Prince Edward Island is well known for its hearty pototoes, but this year it’s blueberries that are making headlines.
More than 2,400 hectares are now devoted to blueberry production on Canada’s smallest island province. The western half of the island is celebrating a record harvest.
“We’ve had some of the best crops we’ve ever seen. And as a group, we’ve marketed over a million pounds this year which is the best our co-op has ever been able to ship out.” John Handrahan, a blueberry farmer told CBC.
Handrahan said sunny days with just enough rain this summer, and for the first time, imported bees, are the reasons behind the record crop.
Strawberry and raspberry farmers did not fare so well. The strawberry yield was just 10 per cent of what it might have been. A virus decimated the plants earlier in the summer.
And John Handrahan is not counting on a repeat crop of blueberries in 2014, as Asian fruit flies appeared on the island late in the season.
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