Managing Small Fruit Crops for the 

 Retail Market 



Marvin P. Pritts 



Department of Pomology, Cornell University 



The market for the small fruit grower is changing. 

 Pick-your-own (PYO) sales are either stable or declin- 

 ing, while demand for pre-picked fruit is growing. The 

 increase in per capita consumption of small fruits and 

 changing family priorities are fueling this demand. 

 Many growers find that they can no longer support 

 themselves through PYO sales alone, and must adapt 

 to this changing market situation. Growers should 

 begin to think in terms of producing a portion of the 

 crop for PYO, and the remainder for the retail or 

 wholesale market. 



A tremendous opportunity exists for those willing 

 to take the extra steps that are required for meeting 

 new market demands. With some supervised harvest- 

 ing, a facility to remove field heat and keep berries cool, 

 a refrigerated truck, and a few phone calls, your berries 

 could be on supermarket shelves anywhere in North 

 America. 



Marketing pre-picked berries requires better plan- 

 ning and management than growing for pick-your-own 

 because your job does not end when the berries get 

 ripe. Not only must berries be harvested under your 

 supervision, but they must be maintained in excellent 

 condition for delivery to the customer, who may be 

 miles away. Berries that are harvested in the field and 

 transported to the customer without special treatment, 

 will often arrive in an unacceptable condition. Al- 

 though small fruits are very perishable, there are 

 measures that can be taken to ensure a long shelf life, 

 some of which begin when the site is selected and 

 prepared for planting. 



Preharvest Considerations 



Cultivar selection has an important influence on 

 the quality of product in the market. Sparkle, Catskill, 

 and Del i te strawberries can no longer compete with the 

 firmer fruit of Allstar, Hobday, or Honeoye. Newburgh 

 is one of the firmer raspberries, and would be superior 

 to Reveille or Boyne for shipping or retail sales. Blue- 

 berry cultivars chosen for shipping should have a dry 

 scar. This means that the point of attachment to the 

 pedicel (fruit stem) should be brown after detachment, 

 and no white flesh should be observed. Cultivars with 

 good scars include Collins, Patriot, Blueray, Bluecrop, 



and Coville. The skin of Bluetta, Herbert, and Lateblue 

 tends to tear when picked, exposing the sugary interior 

 of the berry to molds. 



Selection of a site with good air drainage, and 

 planting in a row orientation parallel to the prevailing 

 summer winds will improve the quality of harvested 

 fruit. Proper plant densities will also reduce disease 

 pressure on fruit. Trellising brambles and pruning 

 blueberries will allow air movement and light in the 

 canopy so a less favorable environment is created for 

 decay organisms. Rain and dew increase the suscepti- 

 bility of infection, but this moisture will evaporate 

 quickly in a canopy with good air circulation. For 

 brambles and blueberries, trickle irrigation is better 

 than overhead irrigation, since the fruit is not wetted 

 during water application. 



Proper fertilization is also an important compo- 

 nent of good shelf life. Fruit from plants that are 

 nutritionally stressed will have a shorter shelf life than 

 fruit from healthy plants. It is essential that adequate 

 potassium and calcium are available to the plant, and 

 that nitrogen is not too high. For example, a strong 

 relationship exists between nitrogen availability and 

 fruit softness in strawberry. A leaf analysis aids in fine- 

 tuning the fertilizer program. 



Fungicides applied at petal fall will significantly 

 reduce the number of moldy berries in strawberries 

 and bramble fruit. Gray mold (Botrytis cinerea) read- 

 ily infects senescing petals and grows from them into 

 developing fruit before it ripens. Such berries may 

 have no visible signs of infection until harvest. Thus, 

 timely petal fall sprays are essential, especially during 

 cool, humid weather. 



Some insects cause minor physical damage when 

 feeding on the fruit, but even small wounds are sites for 

 fungal infection. Certain insects may spread bacteria 

 and fungi from fruit to fruit. If insecticides are used to 

 control these pests, be sure to consider the days-to- 

 harvest restrictions. 



Harvest Considerations 



Blueberries are not as perishable as other small 

 fruit crops, and local berries have been sold in super- 

 markets for several years. A blueberry can remain on 



Fruit Notes, Spring, 1990 



