Ways to improve wild blueberry (Vaccinium angustifolium) production sustainably in New Brunswick in partnership with territorial development stakeholders

Alexandra Caissie, Faculty of Graduate Studies and Research, Université de Moncton, Moncton, NB, Canada, Marion Tétégan Simon, Peatlands-Soils-Sustainable development, Valorēs, Shippagan, NB, Canada; Université de Moncton, Shippagan, NB, Canada and Marie-Andrée Giroux, Salmon and Diadromous Fish, Fisheries and Oceans Canada, Gulf Region, Moncton, NB, Canada; K.-C.-Irving Chair in Environmental Sciences and Sustainable development, Moncton, NB, Canada

Background/Question/Methods
To make agriculture a sustainable activity, new practices must be developed through collaborations between actors in the scientific and agricultural spheres. The objective of this study is to identify the impact of exposure duration of commercial honeybees (Apis mellifera) hives on wild blueberry (Vaccinium angustifolium) production, in partnership with a farmer from northeastern New Brunswick. We hypothesize that the presence of commercial beehives has positive impacts on berry production for a limited time. We predict that wild blueberry production (mass per hectare) increases with exposure duration to beehives (P1), but this increase ceases at a duration threshold allowing to reach a level of production like the one obtained for the maximum exposure duration to beehives (P2).
In three blueberry fields, enclosures were set up at three different time intervals (before the installation of beehives [n=18]), 5 days [n=18], and 10 days [n=18] after the installation of beehives) to prevent pollinators access to treatment plots. Control plots (n=18), exposed to beehives for the maximum duration, were also installed in the fields. Other variables were collected, such as the number of flowers per plot and the distance between plots, commercial beehives, and potential natural bee habitats like forest patches and windbreaks.
Results/Conclusions
According to our analyses, the model best explaining variation in blueberry mass included two variables, i.e., the exposure duration to beehives and the number of flowers per plot. The blueberry mass was significantly larger in the plots exposed to commercial beehives compared to plots never exposed to them. This confirms a well-known positive influence of pollinators on blueberry production. In opposition to our prediction, we showed that blueberry mass was higher and similar in plots exposed to beehives for only 5 and 10 days, respectively than plots exposed to beehives during the maximal duration. This result indicates that other factors may have favor blueberry production in treated plots. Our results also showed that the mass increased for each additional flower per plot.
These results could potentially contribute to providing more evidence about the effect of pollinators on blueberry production. Also, this kind of collaboration could promote the establishment of partnerships between farmers and stakeholders which could participate in the sustainable development of the territory.