The frost may have damaged the strawberries and blueberries in some places, but the weather in the coming weeks can still save the berry quantities.
Blueberry there have been plenty of flowers in many places, but the final blueberry harvest is still uncertain, says Luonnonvarakeskus (Luke). The harvest may be weakened by the frosty nights that occurred in large areas at the beginning of June, says Luke’s specialist researcher Rainer Peltola.
It is difficult to predict the situation, because there are no observations of blueberry rot due to the cool early summer.
The final blueberry harvest is especially influenced by the success of flowering and pollination.
“The frost that occurred in large areas at the beginning of June makes me think. If we went well to the side of the frost, the blueberry flowers in the frosted areas did get damaged,” Peltola tells STT.
Usually Luke publishes a forecast of the wild berry harvest before Midsummer. This year, due to the cool early summer, the publication of the forecast will be moved to the week after Midsummer.
According to Peltola, nothing can be said about the lingonberry and jam harvest yet.
“It seems that the frosty nights in the early summer did not affect the lingonberry, because the lingonberry didn’t bloom anywhere at that time.”
Because of its low growing places, mulberry is more vulnerable to frost than blueberry and lingonberry. According to Peltola, it is difficult to assess the effects of the mill on the mill.
In Lapland, the Hillas escaped the frost in many places, because they did not bloom until early summer.
“In Kollismaa and Kainuu, in many places, the frost started flowering at the beginning of June”, so the frost must have caused havoc there.
To come the weather of the weeks has a great influence on the final berry harvests. According to Peltola, an increase in rainfall would be desirable especially for the blueberry harvest.
If dry weather continues for several weeks, blueberry berry size will decrease. Severe drought can even cause berries to drop from the toes.
“The lingonberry withstands drought much better than the blueberry. There is enough moisture in the swamps where the hibiscus grows, so it must be really dry before the hibiscus starts to suffer.”
The temperature is of great importance for the success of pollination, because blueberry, lingonberry and elderberry are pollinated by insects. Pollinators are less active in cold weather, says Peltola.
The temperature especially affects the pollination of the mat.
“Licorice and blueberry are mainly pollinated by bumblebees, which are strong fliers. Hilla’s flowers are mostly pollinated by flies, such as flower flies, which are less common. They skip flying if it’s cold, windy and rainy.”
Arable land estimates that the first blueberries in southern Finland will be ripe for picking at the beginning of July. In northern Finland, the harvest season starts about a few weeks later, depending on the temperatures.
The lingonberry harvest, on the other hand, ripens around August-September. Hilla should start applying according to Peltola in mid-July.
“Hilla can be picked mostly in northern Finland, because there are still places where it grows. The bridge bogs of southern Finland have largely been drained.”
Peltola has a couple of tips for searching for blueberries. According to him, you should look for berries in places that are not sensitive to frost. For example, in depressions and low-lying lands, the frost may have taxed the blueberry harvest.
The slopes, on the other hand, are prone to drought. In the worst case, the blueberry crops on depressions and slopes will suffer if the frost-prone areas are dry for a long time.
“No matter what the weather, there are always berries somewhere. A hard-working picker never leaves the buckets empty.”
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