Sept 30, 2010
Media contact: Anne Russell
Cell: 604-798-3709
Office: 604-795-2826
anne.russell@ufv.ca
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| UFV horticulture instructor Tom Baumann is on a quest to create the perfect strawberry. He's looking for a berry that is easy to grow, can be produced year-round, and tastes delicious. He will talk about his research at the upcoming lecture series at UFV. |
Berry compelling topic for UFV lecture series
UFV horticulturalist Tom Baumann has got a pretty sweet job. He is on a quest for the perfect berry, and he’s going to share the fruits of his research at the first presentation of this year’s UFV lecture series.
Baumann will be speaking at UFV’s Abbotsford campus lecture theatre (B101) on Wednesday, Oct 6, at 7 pm. Admission is free and the public is welcome.
Baumann teaches agriculture at the University of the Fraser Valley, but he also works with BC Ministry of Agriculture berry specialist Mark Sweeney to study and create new varieties of berries. In short, he is on a mission to invent the sweetest, healthiest, tastiest berries for farmers, and berry lovers, around the world.
Berries are big business, especially in B.C. Whether you’re talking strawberries, raspberries, blueberries, blackberries, or even cranberries, it’s a multi-million dollar enterprise. And because berries have recently been linked to health benefits, and environmentally conscious consumers are looking for local produce, Baumann says the Fraser Valley berry industry has blossomed.
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| While much of his research is on strawberries, Baumann is also hoping to create the perfect raspberry, blueberry, cranberry, and blackberry. |
“We know berries, especially those that are darker in colour than others, are really good for us to eat. We can show very clearly the health benefits of eating berries on a regular basis,” he says. “Now, we’d like to improve these berries so they become more pest- and disease-resistant. We want to generate berries that have a longer growing season, so people can enjoy these healthy foods for longer periods each year.”
In the past, Fraser Valley berries were grown mostly for processing, but Baumann says there is now a huge demand for large, ripe, picture perfect, fresh berries - almost year round. And, he notes, provincial grocery chains and small markets are requesting B.C.-grown instead of those shipped from California and other states.
While Baumann’s personal pet project is to invent the perfect strawberry, he works with the provincial agriculture ministry and Agriculture Canada to improve all seasonal berries native to the Fraser Valley. Trying to create a stronger, hardier, sweeter berry is a lot trickier than it sounds. It takes years of testing; generally the berry breeder Chaim Kempler starts with one or two varieties, then breeds or cross breeds the berry under ideal conditions, propagates it, and then allows it to grow for two to three years so it can be taste tested.
Baumann then takes the most promising selections to fields where they can grow. A team of experts from the BC Ministry of Agriculture, Agriculture Canada, the Pacific Northwest Berry Associations, and private consultants, monitors the berries during this growth period, which again, can last a few years.
“There is a whole crew of people involved in this project including breeders, the ministry, farmers, and researchers,” Baumann explains. “We will discuss the merits of a particular berry, go through the growing and propagating stage and then wait for the berries to grow in farmers’ fields. Then the next year, we come back to see how the berries are doing. Sometimes it can take years before we can recommend a new variety of berry.”
But still, he admits, it can be fun inventing berries. Take the Nisga’a, a new strawberry variety that Baumann helped generate. It is now being tested in isolated fields in BC, Washington, and Oregon and so far has passed all the tests with brilliant colours.
Baumann explains that B.C., Washington, and Oregon have a reciprocal agreement when it comes to berry research. Once a berry goes through years of testing, it is then marketed in these three regions. Eventually, many of the berries developed in B.C. end up in farmers’ fields around the world. For example, strawberry farmers in New Zealand are currently growing and marketing B.C. varieties with names such as Chilliwack, Stó:lo, Tulameen, Chemainus, and Saanich.
And still, Baumann won’t rest until he has the perfect berry. He is really happy with a new all-season strawberry called the San Andreas - it is being tested locally, but hails from California. He is working to make it a better berry.
“I’m never really 100 percent happy with the berry and I work to do away with as many impurities as possible. I want a berry that doesn’t need sprays, or fertilizer, or to be covered in a greenhouse. I want a berry that has a long growing season and one that isn’t ruined by a wet spring, or a dry summer. I want a berry that just falls off the vine, ripe into your mouth, and you say ‘that’s perfect.’”
Research is essential, Baumann notes. Berry crops continue to be threatened by blights and diseases and new pests, such as the vinegar fly, which is particularly harmful to fruit crops. Climate change also affects the health of a plant and Baumann says crops can actually get sunburned. He has documented physical damage on soft fruits believed to be from increased ozone.
Because berries are big businesses, the federal government recently kicked in $1.2 million to fund berry research that will be affiliated with UFV’s Agriculture Technology department. With the Fraser Valley already producing the highest yields of raspberries, cranberries and blueberries in the world, as well as the highest quality strawberries, Baumann argues that a BC Berry Resource Centre can centralize the work done by local growers and berry fanatics like himself.
“To tackle the problems associated with these fruits, such as variety development, plant husbandry, post harvest management, and marketing, UFV is to lead the efforts through the Berry Resource Centre,” he explains. “This centre of excellence will act as a hub for research, extension services, and other industry efforts.”
Together, based upon acres and total dollars produced, strawberries, raspberries, blueberries, and cranberries, represent a $130 million industry- more than all the tree fruit and grapes in British Columbia, says Baumann.
“We’re trying to deliver a berry to consumers that is not only delicious, but totally safe to eat, while at the same time provide the growers with a berry that is easy and profitable to grow,” explains Baumann. “At the end of the day, that is the perfect berry and we haven’t quite got there yet.”
The UFV lecture series is presented by the UFV Research office. Next up in the series is professor of social work Adrienne Chan, on Wed, Nov 17. She will speak on what social justice means in a university setting.
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