A Pollination Toolbox for Wild Blueberry Growers

A pollination “toolbox” was developed to facilitate workshops for wild blueberry (Vaccinium angustifolium Aiton) growers. The purpose of the workshop is to provide “hands-on” education about: 1) reproductive biology of wild blueberry; 2) the major pollinators, their life history and identification; 3) conservation and protection of native and commercial bee pollinators; 4) methodology for estimating fruit set, fruit drop, and pollinator field abundance; and 5) the use of a regression model for determining adequacy of pollinator field abundance. The workshop supplies a pollination toolbox to the growers which is comprised of the following materials: 1) a reference bee collection imbedded in plastic; 2) a “field-ready” fruit set estimation kit; 3) a “field-ready” pollinator abundance sampling quadrat; 4) five wild blueberry pollination and pollinator Extension color factsheets; and 5) a video (made in 2013) describing the estimation of fruit set and pollinator field abundance. A survey was given to growers at two workshops in 2014 to assess the workshop and pollination toolbox. This is an on-going project aimed at increasing the knowledge of wild blueberry pollination by growers so that sound decisions can be made in suitable pollination strategies and investments that fit the farm’s management philosophy.