High Tunnel Bramble Production

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High Tunnel Bramble Production

• Kathy Demchak
• Penn State University

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What Are High Tunnels?

• Low-cost protective structures
• similar to a greenhouse, but
• less infrastructure,
• no floor
• Use methods similar to field production with
  minor changes
• Or, more similar to greenhouse production
  (soilless media)
• Multi-bay or single-bay

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Variations

• Tunnels where climate control is automated in
  some way
• For single bays
• Additional inputs making culture more similar to
  greenhouse production
• Rain shelters

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Multi-Bay Tunnels
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Multi-Bay Tunnels

• No tolerance of snow load
• Plastic gathered for winter
• 3-season tunnels
• Plastic gathered at top during high winds
  (gt20mph), hot days
• Multi-bay size depends on no. of bays (std 24'
  wide/bay), 100-1400 ft long

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Multi-bay Use

• All significant high tunnel bramble acreage (so
  far) is multi-bay
• California 4400 acres raspberries
• Oregon 50 acres blackberries
• British Columbia 10 acres red raspberries
• Ontario 14 acres, raspberries

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Single Bay Tunnels
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20 x 150
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17 x 36
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30 x 50
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Single-bay Tunnels

• Single bay size 14 to 30 ft wide
• 36 to 150 ft long
• Can be kept closed for winter
• 4-season tunnels
• Moderate snow OK if peaked design
• Closed when windy
• Used mainly in colder areas with short growing
  season

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Single-bay use

• NJ, PA, MD, OH, UT, MN, IN
• No real statistics
• Acreage is low
• One common (17 x 96) commercial-sized single
  bay
• 0.04 acres

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Bramble Crops Grown in High Tunnels

• Red raspberries
• Primarily primocane-bearers
• Blackberries
• Black raspberries - limited

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Primary Sought Benefits

• Extend spring fall growing seasons (especially
  with
• single-bay)
• Protection from rain (single and multi-bay)
• And wind (single-bay)

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Environmental Changes Relative to Field Single
Bay

• No moisture on foliage from rain or irrigation
• Placement and amount of water is controlled
• Higher humidity
• Warmer air temperatures
• Mild in winter
• Can be hot in summer
• Warmer soil temperatures
• Lack of soil freezing during winter

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Environmental Changes Relative to Field
Multibay

• Same benefits as single bay when covered
• Differences are no winter protection (can be an
  advantage with insects and leaching of salts)
• Can fully vent on hot summer days

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Resulting in

• Longer growing season earlier and later yields
• Plants generally grow much larger than in field
• Higher yields
• Can grow some crops that we couldnt otherwise
  due to short growing season or cool temps
• Changes in pest complexes

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HTs and Small Fruitat PSU
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Tunnel Town, PSU
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Conditions at Rock Springs

• Short growing season
• Last frost Last week of May (officially May 15)
• First frost First week of October
• Low yields for primocane-bearing raspberries
• Typical winter lows of 0F, some years -15F
• Winter injury (?) on blackberries
• Highest temps in summer in 90s
• Windy

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Primocane-Bearing Raspberries

• Reasoning behind trying them?
• Much of the potential yield of primocane-bearers
  remained in the field as green fruit
• Can we increase yields by extending the season?

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Brambles 2000-05 (1st planting)
Autumn Britten
Heritage
Triple Crown
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Raspberries 2000-05

• 2000-01 comparison of cvs, plus in-ground vs.
  containerized (Earth Boxes) with 2 types of media
• 2002 and 2003 comparison of cvs, trying
  different cane densities for summer crop
• 2004 comparison of cropping time (summer fall
  vs. fall only)
• 2005 2-3 canes/ft for summer

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Mkt. Yields, 2001-2005

• If only fall crop 11,400-13,600 lb/acre
• Highest in field previously 5000 lb/acre
• If summer and fall crop
• 14,300-23,300 lb/a
• Substantial summer crop

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Mkt. Yields in lb/ft (lb/a)8 between rows

• Summer
  Fall Total
• 2001 (4-6 fc/ft)
• Aut. Britten ---- 2.5
  (13,600) 2.5 (13,600)
• Heritage 0.8 (4,200) 3.5
  (19,100) 4.3 (23,300)
• - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
  - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
• 2002 (? fc/ft)
• Aut. Britten 2.4 (13,100) 0.6 (3,300)
  3.0 (16,400)
• Heritage 2.1 (11,400) 1.6 (8,700)
  3.7 (20,100)
• - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
  - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
• 2003 (5 fc/ft)
• Aut. Britten 1.6 (8,800) 1.0
  (5,500) 2.6 (14,300)
• Heritage 0.7 (3,800) 2.0
  (10,800) 2.7 (14,600)

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2007

• New planting comparing Jewel summer-bearing
  black raspberry, PT9301.A.3 primocane-bearing
  black raspberry (Explorer)

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Raspberry Results

• High yields
• Long shelf-life (11 days)
• Large fruit (2.8 g for Heritage)
• Earlier (and later) production
• Balance between summer and fall crop can be an
  issue

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• No fungicides needed
• Greenhouse pests can be a problem
• Potential for deficiencies, esp. potassium

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Why were raspberry yields so much higher?

• At least part of the answer
• Longer growing season?? Would seem logical
• For PA, increased the growing season by at least
  2 months
• Less wind stress (more hours of photosynthesis)??
• More leaves doing more photosynthesis (more light
  to lower leaves)??
• Something else?

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Blackberries 2000-05

• Historically, yields at this site were 0, zip,
  zilch in 1994 2000 with Chester, Choctaw,
  Shawnee, Arapaho, Navaho
• Explained as due to cold winter temps or
  fluctuating spring temps

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Blackberries
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Blackberry Yield (lb/a)

• Low temp (F)
• 2001 19,602 -2
• 2002 28,859 9
• 2003 33,907 -2
• 2004 23,359 -11
• 2005 dug plants out (crown
• borers)

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What works?

• At Rock Springs

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Culture

• Used methods similar to field production with
  changes necessitated or made possible by tunnels
• Drip irrigation
• Venting
• Earlier planting
• Longer harvest season
• Usually (not always) primocane-bearers
• Changes in pest complexes

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Site Selection

• Must be well-drained
• gt2 organic matter good, gt5 preferred
• Slope minimal OK if you can step up or down
  slope

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Fertility

• pH 6.0-6.5
• Before planting, test soil
• Amend according to soil test results with lime,
  and compost or fertilizer
• Use tissue-testing yearly and adjust fertilizer
  (or compost) amounts based on test results
• Baseline of 60 lb N acre as
• 20-20-20, 20-10-20, etc. - not just nitrogen

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Cultivars

• Red raspberries usually primocane-bearers
• Autumn Britten, Josephine
• Large berries, uniform fruit size
• Any cultivar that works well on your farm
• Black raspberries? short harvest season

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Planting

• As early in spring as possible
• If tunnel up, could be late winter
• If using tissue-cultured plants, have row covers
  ready
• Raised beds are best
• 1.5 to 2 between plants
• Minimum 7-8 between rows

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Landscape Fabric?

• For red raspberries, just have between rows

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Trickle Irrigation

• 1x/week during early spring and late fall,
  increasing to 3x/week during summer
• About 2 hours each time if 0.45gal/100/min
  trickle tape - unless uncovered (make get rain)

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Trellis

• Simple supported hedgerow or narrow V works
  well

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Venting

• Raspberries grow well in cool temps.
• Goal is to keep temperature around 70-80 degrees
• Keeping rain off of the blossoms and fruit
  major decrease in disease incidence major
  decrease in fungicide use
• Wind makes plants shorter lower yields gentle
  breezes are good

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Pruning

• For primocane-bearers, can prune to ground in
  late winter
• Or prune as for summer-bearers to get a summer
  crop, but may need to adjust canes/linear foot of
  row (start with 3-4)
• Summer canes if too thick can compete with fall
  production

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Harvest

• Primocane-bearers - can delay harvest by 2-3
  weeks if soft-tipped when 30 in. tall
• Staggers harvest with same cultivar
• Can harvest from June through Nov. with mix of
  varieties, tipping
• Pick 3x/week in summer, 2x/week in fall
• Berry size larger than in field

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Diseases

• Much reduced
• Very little gray mold
• Longer shelf-life

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Insects

• Greenhouse pests
• Spider mites
• Whiteflies
• Aphids
• Thrips
• Fewer Japanese beetles if covered

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Weeds

• Not much of a problem with landscape fabric
• If no landscape fabric, and always covered during
  rain, weeds only where moist (in rows, around
  edges)
• Otherwise, could be problem
• Herbicide incorporation? Trickle tape?

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Pesticides?

• Tunnels make organic production easier
• Be aware - viruses may move in via insects
• When using pesticides, official EPA
  interpretation is that as long as the label
  doesnt restrict the use from protected culture,
  it can be used

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What Would I Have Done Differently?

• Would have controlled insects better
• Would have released predatory mites sooner
• We use a Neoseiulus mix (N. fallacis and N.
  californicus)
• Would have applied more potassium from the
  beginning

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Why arent tunnels used more for raspberries?

• Labor
• High labor cost
• Shortage of labor
• Lower per area value than some other crops
• Constantly occupy the tunnel
• Tomatoes still the big winner in economic analyses

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Do high tunnels pay for raspberry production?
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Cost/Acre

• 30,000 for multi-bay tunnel
• 6,500 for plants, trickle tape, land
  preparation, etc.
• So, 36,500 total to start
• Then, about 1800/year operating costs exclusive
  of items that vary with yield

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Yields

• First year, small crop (up to 5000 lb/acre)
• Yields are typically 2-3 times that of field
  production
• In full production second year
• Should be able to get 10,000 lb/acre at that
  point
• Gradual decrease yr 5 and later

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Economics

• 1 lb 3 half-pints (lg. berries)
• First year, you should be able to pay off
  5000-8000 on the tunnel
• Or not (if you eat em all)
• Tunnel cost not amortized so that payback time is
  apparent

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Mature planting(Yr 2 and later)If harvest cost
is 0.50/half pt

• Price/half-pt Yield lb/a Profit/a
• 1.50 7000 14,700
• 2.00 7000 25,200
• 2.50 7000 35,700
• 3.00 7000 46,200
• not including structure and plastic replacement
  cost

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Harvest cost 1.00/half pt

• Price/half-pt Yield lb/a Profit/a
• 1.50 7000 4,200
• 2.00 7000 14,700
• 2.50 7000 25,200
• 3.00 7000 35,700
• not including structure and plastic replacement
  cost

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Harvest cost 1.00/half pt

• Price/half-pt Yield lb/a Profit/a
• 1.50 10,000 6,800
• 2.00 10,000 21,800
• 2.50 10,000 36,800
• 3.00 10,000 51,800
• not including structure and plastic replacement
  cost

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Harvest cost 0.50/half pt

• Price/half-pt Yield lb/a Profit/a
• 1.50 10,000 21,800
• 2.00 10,000 36,800
• 2.50 10,000 51,800
• 3.00 10,000 66,800
• not including structure and plastic replacement
  cost

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Thanks to

• Mike Orzolek and Bill Lamont
• Elsa Sánchez
• Bruce Dye, Catie Rasmussen, Lisa White, Eric
  Burkhart, numerous others
• Pennsylvania Dept. of Agriculture
• And many other sponsors