UVIC-LED STUDY REVEALS GENETIC SECRETS OF BLUEBERRIES

Blueberries are one of our favourite fruits and no wonder—they’re tasty and they’re good for us. They’re rich in antioxidants, substances that can help reduce the natural cell damage in our aging bodies that can lead to cancer, heart disease and other ailments.

Now, a research team led by UVic plant biologist Dr. Peter Constabel has become the first in the world to reveal—at a molecular genetic level—how blueberries ripen and produce antioxidants known as flavonoids.

“We already knew a lot about the chemical composition of blueberries, but until now very little about how flavonoid antioxidants are formed by the fruit as it ripens,” says Constabel. “This new knowledge has tremendous potential for BC’s blueberry industry and, ultimately, for our health.”

In the study, published recently in the international journal, Plant Physiology, the team used advanced genomics tools to identify a large number of genes in ripening blueberries. In the process, they quadrupled the number of newly discovered blueberry genes—information that is now available in public databases.

International Special Editions from FreshFruitPortal.com

Two International Special Editions are available from FreshFruitPortal.com covering Fresh Atacama and Blueberries from Chile.

The International Special Edition is a joint effort between industry news websites Freshfruitportal.com and Portalfruticola.com.

Fresh Atacama	Blueberries from Chile
October 2011	October 2011
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Entrepreneur tries hand at commercial blueberry production

Posted By SHIRLEY MILLS, SPECIAL TO SUN MEDIA
Posted 13 hours ago

Level Plains Inc. hopes its latest business venture here blossoms.
Owner Trevor Laing has secured 605 acres of a clear-cut area to grow blueberries. He bought the land in 2003.

Currently, Laing has seven employees on the job and added another excavator operator to expedite the process. With the two machines working, results could be seen within three to five years, he said in a recent interview.

Laing said when the farm is fully up and running, there will be four full-time employees eight months of the year.

During the intense harvesting period, there is to be 25 to 30 hired for at least six weeks.
There is no commercial production of blueberries in Ontario, such as those in Quebec, Nova Scotia and New Brunswick.

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Berried treasures in Acampo

Acampo farm gives blueberry fans the opportunity to pick their own fresh fruit

By Reed Fujii
Record Staff Writer
June 21, 2009 6:00 AM

If variety is the spice of life, Liz Giusto's must be mighty zesty.
She and her family grow 15 different types of blueberries on about four acres in Acampo, peddling the fruit to U-pick visitors and at the Thursday night farmers market in downtown Lodi.

"We wanted to find out what varieties produce the best berries," Giusto explained. All the plants they've planted since 2003 have thrived, she said, but, "We discovered that each variety had its own characteristics and flavors."

Some are especially sweet, while others add a burst of acidity. Some berries provide a deep, rich flavor, some are mild, while still others have a spiciness, a hint of cinnamon.

Giusto leaves it up to her customers to decide which flavor they like the best.

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AU: Blueberry growers worried about threat from Chile

Blueberry growers in Australia say they're worried what Chilean imports of the fruit will do to the domestic market.

A free trade agreement between Australia and Chile came into effect in March.The secretary of the Australian Blueberry Growers Association, Ridley Bell, says the Australian industry can't compete, because we have the highest rates of pay for blueberries in the world.

"It'll impact on our growers because we can't compete with their labour rates," he says.

"Our labour rates are several times higher than the Chilean day rates."When you look at a crop like blueberries, it's very very labour intensive.

"It's all hand harvested, hand packed, all pruning, everything's labour".

Source: abc.net.au