Saskatoons, like any fruit crop grown for commercial production, may be irrigated to obtain maximum growth and production. Many of the new plantings of Saskatoons have had trickle irrigation installed. Primarily due to wide row spacings and limited water supplies, trickle systems are an efficient use of water although we have found them troublesome and expensive. Opinions vary, however, and we feel it is possible for Saskatoons to be irrigated too heavily. We believe that irrigation is most important during the time after transplanting and in the first two to three years. Once your hedgerows are established, a couple of irrigations a year may be more than sufficient, depending on the occurrence of timely rains. Remember that winter drifting of snow, reduced wind desiccation of the soil, and shading of the soil by the bushes themselves, are all contributors to your field’s moisture levels. We are successfully growing Saskatoons in Southern Alberta with no irrigation. However, new plantings are watered on an as required basis using a water truck. Certainly some sort of irrigation will be required in the drier southern portions of the Prairies. I also feel that many parts of the Central and Northern Prairie provinces could produce Saskatoons very successfully with little or no irrigation. This doesn’t mean however, that we can simply plant our seedlings and forget about water forever. Moisture levels should be monitored throughout the season. I’m simply suggesting that I believe Saskatoons can be healthy and perform well once established, in most areas, without extensive and expensive irrigation systems.

It has become evident in the last year or two, that what has been traditionally thought to be frost damage is in fact an insect problem. Rows sprayed during blossom time with an insecticide produced a good fruit crop while unsprayed rows have little or no fruit. This practice is not essential but for producers wanting to guarantee themselves a crop, it should be considered. Commercial Saskatoon producers now have a registered insecticide to assist in the battle against insect pests throughout the spring and summer. Hoechst Canada Inc. has received approval of DECIS 5.0 EC Insecticide for use on Saskatoons. Apply during the season, at blooming time. (Follow label instructions). Note: DECIS should be applied when insects are actively feeding - contact kill. Do not spray when temperature is above 25ºC. Spraying early morning or late evening will reduce injury to honey bees. Generally, the first application will control the Saskatoon Bud Moth, Tarnish Plant Bugs, and Leaf Miners. In some years these insects may emerge and can cause damage prior to the 25% bloom stage. Growers may be encouraged to make the first application at the tight-cluster stage, as damage is done to the buds before opening. The second and third applications should control most of the remaining insects if applied on time.

Another insect pest is known as the root aphid.Root Aphids are not the problem they were in the past. We’ve learned lots about them and find them easy to control. Over 95% of all problems that we see related to Saskatoons not performing to growers expectations or mortalities are all related to various degrees of infestations of root aphids. We strongly recommend that you monitor and educate yourself about this insect pest. Root aphids have been observed feeding on the roots of Saskatoons. Also known as woolly elm aphid (Eriosoma Americanum) they can cause significant damage to developing plants. Seedling and young plants less than four years old seem to be the most seriously affected. The aphid overwinters on elms in the egg stage. The following spring, the egg hatches into a young, wingless female which seeks out the underside of an elm leaf where it feeds. The aphid population increases rapidly. By mid to late June, the aphid colony becomes crowded and winged forms are produced as the aphids desert the elms and migrate to alternative hosts such as Saskatoons, roses and other species establishing colonies on roots of these plants. In the fall, a winged generation of aphids is produced which migrate back to the elms to perpetuate the cycle. On Saskatoons, the aphid colonies quickly encase the roots to a depth of several inches. By mid August the aphids may be so numerous that the leaves of the plant turn yellow and drop to the ground. Feeding will continue into early October. The aphid colonies on Saskatoons are easily detected by brushing back the soil at the base of the plant and looking for a white waxy material that is characteristic of this aphid. Young shoots are likely to show the heaviest infestations. Ensure this is in fact the problem before treating. Heavily infested plants may fail to leaf-out in the spring. Moderately infested plants may leaf-out in the spring but these plants will not grow vigorously. Typically, they will have small, slightly chloritic leaves. Once exposed to warm summer condition these plants often die. Ottawa has approved a minor use registration for control on woolly elm aphids on newly established, non-fruit bearing saskatoon plants. This treatment is for Saskatoons that are three years old and younger. This is for non-fruit bearing plants only, it is mixed with water and applied to the soil at the base of the plant. Consult label for application rates. United Agri-Products, the company that produces Orthene, says that the insecticide is available in 1.5 kg bags and the product can be obtained from their Customer Services Department in Calgary (1-800-561-5444). That can be enough to treat about 880 plants. Treatment costs should be under 10 cents per seedling. elm aphids on newly established, non-fruit bearing saskatoon plants. This treatment is for Saskatoons that are three years old and younger. This is for non-fruit bearing plants only, it is mixed with water and applied to the soil at the base of the plant. Consult label for application rates. United Agri-Products, the company that produces Orthene, says that the insecticide is available in 1.5 kg bags and the product can be obtained from their Customer Services Department in Calgary (1-800-561-5444). That can be enough to treat about 880 plants. Treatment costs should be under 10 cents per seedling

Deer and moose have been known to browse on the Saskatoon. Once your orchard is a few years old, this would amount to an undesired pruning as the small plants could be eaten down to the ground level. This problem is probably more of an annoyance than a serious threat, however, things like bloodmeal, electric fences, or repellents of some kind could be used to discourage this behavior.

Like deer, these animals can sometimes dine on Saskatoons. Mice can girdle the plants at the base by eating of all the bark. Rabbits will eat branches above the snowline, as with deer, but it is primarily a winter problem. A clean field, free of potential mouse habitat is the best control (grasses, weeds, excess debris, etc.). Spraying plants in the fall with a rodent repellent is effective and should be considered if you feel mice could be a problem. We have used the product SKOOT with good results.

Birds can be a problem by eating ripe fruit and reducing yields accordingly. This problem is local and can vary considerably depending on your location. The problem is obviously over a short period of time when the fruit is ripe. There seems to be evidence that the birds may not be after the fruit as food but rather they are seeking water. One grower reported to us a 100% drop in his bird problem after a few hours of rain. Perhaps making water easily available to birds could be a solution. However, if this should prove unsuccessful there are a number of devices used in the fruit industry to minimize bird damage these include; shot guns, bird traps, scarecrows, plastic owls and snakes set in the field and percussion cannons. Encouraging birds of prey to nest near your field provides excellent control.

The calculation of what proportion your rows are to the total field is one you will use many times. It is important to spend time to ensure that it is correct and also to document it for future years. One acre equals 43,560 sq. ft. Row width (or application width) x row length = total square feet. Say that you have 25 rows, 800 feet long and you wish to apply chemical in a 4 foot wide band. You would calculate the following: 25 x 800 x 4 = 80,000 sq. ft. of area to be treated. Divide this by 43,560 (number of sq. ft. in one acre). This equals 1.84 acres. Apply litres per acre accordingly. LINURON, TREFLAN and CASARON are the only pre-emergent herbicides registered for use with Saskatoons. TREFLAN is often used to prepare a field for initial planting. Incorporated prior to planting your seedlings, it would provide excellent control of annual weeds for the first two seasons’ weed control. Use at the shelterbelt rate. LINURON’S use is outlined below. For the control of annual broad-leaf weeds in Saskatoon berry plantings established for at least one year, apply in the fall or early spring as directed. Spray to uniformly cover the soil surface and emerging weeds. Apply before bud breaks on the Saskatoons. Use the lower rate on coarse textured soils with 2% or less organic matter. Do not apply within 30 days of harvest. Do not apply more than once per season. Check labels for rates of LINURON 400 L and AFONLAN F.

IMPORTANT:

Before using LOROX, AFALON F or LINURON 400 L, read and carefully observe the cautionary statements and all other information appearing on the product labels. CASARON is now registered for use on Saskatoons and provides control of weeds that is nothing less than excellent. It also provides good control of perennial weeds and grasses while not affecting the Saskatoon. This product cannot be used on bushes less than three years old. It is also somewhat expensive. Call 1-800-561-5444, for a brochure. Other herbicides used on Saskatoon plantings include selective spraying of POAST to control grasses, LONTRELL to control Sow Thistle and Canada Thistle. These chemicals are not registered for use on Saskatoons and should only be applied on an experimental basis to bushes not bearing fruit. Care should always be taken and test patches should be observed before attempting to use anything that exceeds the boundaries of the label.

From existing acres of producing Saskatoons in the province, growers have now been able to estimate with some degree of certainty what kind of yields can be expected. Around 3,000 - 4,000 lbs. per acre would appear to be the average, however, well over 8,000 lbs. per acre has been achieved. Yields would fluctuate in this range depending on local conditions such as rainfall, care and weather. I suspect that over a 10 year period one could expect six average years (3,000 - 4,000 lbs.), two exceptional years (6,000 - 9,000 lbs.) and two years below average. We are very certain that 5 lbs. or one ice cream pail of fruit can be taken from one mature Saskatoon bush. Therefore if 1,000 trees are planted on one acre, 5,000 lbs. is a very achievable yield.

Prices of picked Saskatoons reach $3.00 and $4.00 a pound at farmers markets where sales are strong. The average price is $8.00 - $9.00 for a four litre pail U-Pick, and $12.00 - $15.00 for a four litre pail pre-picked. This works out to between $2.40 and $3.00 per pound. Saskatoons at the farm gate are most commonly sold by volume not weight. The four litre ice-cream pail being a standard unit of measurement. A large scale commercial operator, for example, a grower selling his product to a jam manufacturer, the price is still in the $ 2.00 per pound range. It would be quite possible to achieve $4.50 a pound for fruit product in jam or pie filling.

Most of the vast market for Saskatoon remains untapped, mainly because there is a lack of consistent supply and volume. As acres come into production, markets can in turn be developed. Before a major jam manufacturer could consider marketing a jam on any kind of level, they would insist on a contract of, for instance, a million pounds a year for 5 years. This alone would translate into 200 acres. For now, producers will have to set sights lower. A typical small producer 2-4 acres would market 8,000 - 15,000 pounds a year on average. Depending on his location, much of the crop could be sold U-Pick, the remainder picked by the producer and sold fresh, frozen later in the season. Markets for frozen bagged fruit would include the public, bakeries, hotels, restaurants, etc. Less or more effort could be made depending on the individual. One person may prefer to sell the whole crop to someone whereas another may choose to process his entire crop into frozen pies and sell them at farmers markets. Marketing co-ops are developing and the wholesale of large quantities for fruit internationally will become a reality. Markets may include: jams, jellies, pie filling, syrup, topping, ice cream flavor,  fresh fruit, frozen fruit, juice and wine.