The project within this program that began in 2017 and ended in June of this year, was financed by Corfo and Chilean Fruit Exporters Association and was executed by investigators from Agronomy UdeC, who during the seminar presented the results of the project presenting a production model under climatic protection for new varieties of blueberries.

"We evaluated different protection materials combined with different replacement varieties, considering that the blueberry industry in Chile is facing competitiveness problems, which is why we must search for a production model for the new varieties that are being introduced and whose fruits they are of better caliber, sweeter and firmer, but they must be protected from the weather because they are very sensitive to extreme weather conditions, which has been noticed with the heat waves we have had in recent years and therefore they must be protected under coverage because they don't adapt so easily”, explained Dr. Richard Bastías, academic from the Department of Plant Production of Agronomy UdeC, and director of this project.

For the development of this production model, two pilot units of one hectare were installed, one in Linares and the other in Traiguén provided by the companies NiceBlue and Biofuturo. “There we studied which was the best productive model for the future, so we carried out a productive study, microclimate, quality and condition of the fruit, postharvest, storage, and sanitary, pruning, nutritional, and irrigation management. The foregoing through an interdisciplinary work in which our academics participated, Dr. Arturo Calderón who determined indicators for irrigation management in these systems, Dr. Gonzalo Silva who did studies on the incidence of pests and also doctors Bruno Defilippi and Juan Hirzel from INIA, who collaborated with us in the areas of post-harvest and nutrition, therefore, it was a very complete job", highlighted Dr. Richard Bastías, who focused his research on microclimate and production analysis through simulation . “This is not something that gets done a lot in FRUITCULTURE, but we did a simulation with all the accumulated data, and we made the productive projection to the year 2026, for different combinations of variety and cover materials in different climatic and price scenarios, including an economic analysis, which is a relevant tool for the producers".

Current Scenario

The Chilean blueberry industry is currently undergoing a varietal replacement process to regain its competitiveness, which is why this production model is a great alternative, even though its cost is high.

"We could say that this system is not profitable for a producer in the current scenario because it is expensive to use these coverage technologies, which implies investments of $30.000 upwards per hectare, however, if adverse weather events such as a heat wave are considered, and that it could mean a 20% lower price, due to loss of quality and condition of fruits due to excess heat, then protecting these orchards with a covering material such as mesh, does rent. And if we consider that, with climate change, these heat waves will continue in the future, the simulation analysis shows that this technology is profitable and the investment would pay off”, specified Dr. Bastías.

technological program

The investment made in this program where the Universidad de Concepción, and which was administered by the Fundación de Desarrollo Frutícola and the Association of Fruit Exporters through its Chilean Blueberry Committee, and in which the Fruit Technology Consortium, the Catholic University of Chile and INIA also participated, was close to the $2.000 million pesos, which among other things were allocated to the installation of the pilot units with different types of coverage and also investment in scientific and technological equipment. “We study the coverages that exist in the market with spectrophotometry analysis. We tried polyethylene plastic, raffia and mesh. One of the most relevant results is that with the use of porous materials such as mesh, the fruit better resists the adverse effects of heat waves, remaining longer with higher levels of firmness on the plant and at harvest, which is what today It is of interest to the market, because firmness has a significant impact on the price of the fruit," said the expert regarding the use of meshes in the face of climate change scenarios.

"It should be noted that for the success of this investigative work, the participation of the Chilean Blueberry Committee was very relevant, who through its executive director Andrés Armstrong and its technical manager, Julia Pinto, allowed a timely download of the results to the productive sector. through technical meetings and training days. We must also highlight the formation of advanced human capital, through the incorporation of the professionals Gustavo Soto and Esteban González in charge of executing the project in the field, and the undergraduate students Patricia Vásquez and Felipe Concha, and the postgraduate students María Fernanda Matamala and Nataly Hermosilla”, pointed out the expert.

The scope and results obtained in this research can be found in a manual that will be published in September of this year, in printed and digital format, and that will be available to producers, exporters, professionals, technicians, researchers, and students linked to the industry. of the blueberry and the FRUITCULTURE.