PEI berry growers on alert for virus

By Melanie Jackson
msjacksonpei@gmail.com

Strawberry growers in eastern PEI are paying close attention to their crops this season in light of the emergence of a new virus that has destroyed millions of dollars worth of crops in Nova Scotia.

Arny Nabuurs, president of the PEI Strawberry Growers Association, said he’s been hearing stories of Nova Scotia growers having to plow under hectares of crops that have been infected by the new virus.

“We’re kind of learning about this virus as we go along,” Mr Nabuurs said. “We (the growers) are all on a steep learning curve right now.”

At this point Mr Nabuurs said it is believed the virus is being spread by aphids, a small insect that feeds on the sap from plants.

“The aphids move on the air,” he said. “So if they feed on an infected plant and then move to an uninfected plant, it becomes susceptible to the disease.”

Mr Nabuurs said any plant that’s been exposed is at risk of other infections.

“As soon as the plant is compromised, for whatever reason, it can be susceptible to other diseases as well,” Mr Nabuurs said, adding that it’s no different than a person’s immunity. “If we’re sick, we’re at risk of getting sicker.”

Mr Nabuurs said he’s been working with the Department of Agriculture to monitor the situation.

“We’ve been taking tissue samples from some of the foliage that’s appeared on plants so far,” he said. “Then we send it off for analysis.”

However, he said he hasn’t seen any results of those analyses to date and is unsure how long it will take to get the results back.

Chris Jordan, a berry crop development officer with the Department of Agriculture, said he expects the results back in a couple of weeks.

“Several strawberry growers have contacted the department and expressed concern over the lack of vigor in their new plants as well as in older established plants,” Mr Jordan said. “We are in the process of collecting samples to determine the cause of slow growth in this year’s crop.”

To date, Mr Nabuurs said he hasn’t heard from any Island growers who have been affected, but he’ll be checking in with them soon to ask how their crops are doing.

Allan Coffin, who owns Coffin’s Berry Farm in Pisquid, said a very small area in one of his fields appears to be infected by some sort of disease, but the source of that infection isn’t yet known.

“I’m not quite sure if it’s the virus or what it is,” Mr Coffin said.
Mr Coffin said the rest of his crops are unaffected and appear to be thriving.

“We lost a few blossoms early on with the frost, but generally speaking, our crops are looking good.”

Claude McCardle, owner of the Berry Patch in Tracadie Cross, said some plants in a small section of one of his fields are dying, but he suspects it might be a problem with the soil.

“There are lots of soil diseases,” Mr McCardle said. “It could be something such as verticillium wilt, but I’m just not sure.”
Mr McCardle said he hasn’t had any tests carried out on his crops yet, but he welcomes the procedure.

“I’m going to leave it and let the people at the Department of Agriculture do their thing. I’ll wait and see what they find out,” Mr McCardle said.

In April, media in Nova Scotia reported the new strain of virus was to blame for one of the province’s largest growers - Millen Farms Ltd. - losing up to 70 per cent of its production this year.

Millen Farms is also one of Nova Scotia’s largest suppliers of strawberry plants to the southern states across the border.

“The varieties they produce are for Florida, Georgia and California,”

Mr McCardle said, adding that PEI growers get their supply from either Keddy’s Nursery or G.W. Allen Nursery, both in Kentville, Nova Scotia.

Mr McCardle said he, too, is aware of all the crops that have been lost on the mainland.

Mr Nabuurs said his association is working hard to avoid that situation on PEI.

“We’ve been setting aphid traps and analyzing the tissue samples so we can get a feel for how serious this thing is.”

First appeared in The Eastern Graphic June 5, 2013