NS blueberry industry hit hard by lack of rain

CITYnews halifax / By Blake Priddle

Nova Scotia’s blueberry industry is a multi-million-dollar export business, but due to dry conditions and a lack of rain, the quality of this year’s crops has been badly affected and is not salvageable.

Blueberries are about 85 to 90 per cent water, and regular rainfall during the growing season has helped ensure the crop maintained its quality. But now, according to David Percival, director of the Wild Blueberry Research Centre, the industry can’t rely on rainfall alone anymore due to climate change.

“The challenge that you get into when you are trying to bring in an irrigation system is first it is very costly to bring in a system, and secondly where are you going to find the water,” said Percival. “The soils themselves are not the best agricultural soils to begin with, they don’t hold a lot of water to begin with.”

Crops in the northern part of the province have been hit the hardest, but farmers are facing challenging conditions throughout Nova Scotia due to the drought.