June 2022 - 1

Digicrop views robotics,
precision agriculture
High-Tech Tools
2022
8
12
Partnership developing
earlier-ripening sweet
cherries
16
Powdery mildew
detector fights
strawberry disease
June 2022 | Volume 61 |
Driscoll's and Plenty are using new
technology to grow strawberries indoors
through vertical farming. Driscoll's plans
to open a vertical farm in the Northeast
U.S. Photo: Plenty
Issue 6
INSIDE BERRIES
Driscoll's pioneering indoor strawberries
" Our motivation for indoor farming is
By Doug Ohlemeier
Assistant Editor
Driscoll's Inc., in a partnership with
Plenty Unlimited Inc., is planning an
indoor growing facility designed to
marry strawberry growing expertise with
vertical farm technology.
Watsonville, California-based Driscoll's
hasn't chosen a site yet or released
construction details for the research and
development project, said Soren Bjorn,
president of Driscoll's of the Americas, a
business division of Driscoll's.
how far you can push flavor, " Bjorn said.
" We know how
good all the flavors
can be across all
four berries, " he
said, referring
to strawberries,
blueberries,
raspberries and
blackberries.
Because of
many of the plants on a vertical plane.
This leads to better fruit growth
afforded by the three-dimension
greenhouses, Bjorn said. Though dwarf
varieties developed over time could
work indoors, the different physical
structures of blueberries, blackberries
and raspberries wouldn't work as well
because pickers wouldn't want to bend
so much during harvest, he said.
Farming vertically in the cube is
SOREN BJORN
strawberries'
compact nature, a grower can place
different from field farming. Indoor
growing requires heating and providing
artificial lighting to all the different levels
in linear feet as opposed to acres and
drives a growers' costs.
Sea change
" From our perspective, it's a big change
in mindsets because we're coming from
this outdoor environment that's two
dimensional on an acre, or sometimes
linear and one dimensional, " Bjorn said.
" Because we can go up high (indoors),
per-acre productivity must go way up. It's
about what kind of productivity we can get
See BERRIES, page 5
First UF blackberry day shows
growers challenges, opportunities
By Doug Ohlemeier
Assistant Editor
At Florida's inaugural blackberry field
day, growers discussed challenges of the
crop, which is experiencing increasing
consumer demand.
During the May 25 event at the
University of Florida Institute of Food
and Agricultural Sciences' (UF/IFAS)
Gulf Coast Research and Education
Center in Wimauma, plant scientists,
agronomic specialists and Extension
agents provided attendees information
about blackberries in the Sunshine State.
Zhanao Deng, professor of
environmental horticulture, reviewed
varieties and discussed conditions that
can affect blackberry production in
Florida. Wind chill hours are critical
in plant development. He compared
average chill hours in Balm (central
Florida) to those in Citra, 100 miles to
the north. Balm averages 220 chill hours
to Citra's 419. In 2021, Balm received
162 chill hours while Citra saw 370.
Warm fall weather, similar day/
night-time temperatures during berry
ripening, sandy soil and frequent
thunderstorms, can affect plant growth,
harvesting, cane tipping and disease
management.
" We know from blueberries and
peaches when we have enough chill
hours, " Deng said. " Fruit will be much
smaller if we don't get enough. "
Osage, a variety with strong potential
for Florida, tends to produce small fruit.
A lack of acidity, however, makes it
popular with consumers, Deng said. The
See FLORIDA, page 6
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June 2022

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of June 2022
