Anyone growing blueberries or thinking of planting them in Italy must prepare for a revolution and decide whether they want to be counted among the innovators or the conservatives. Andrea Pergher, Commercial Co-Director EMEA for Fall Creek® Farm & Nursery and part of the European team of the U.S. company, sees a progressive replacement of varieties in the European blueberry cultivation landscape.
Those that can be considered at the end of their career will soon be replaced by new ones that follow consumer preferences. “As soon as the new varieties—crunchier, tastier, larger—hit supermarket shelves consistently, consumers won’t be able to help but notice the difference”, he told us during a long phone conversation. It’s a bit like saying that something new is brewing beneath the surface, invisible to those who lack foresight.
Nurseries Managed Directly for Full Control
Fall Creek®, a nursery founded over 40 years ago in Oregon (USA) and specializing in blueberries, produces between 40 and 50 million blueberry plants annually, about 10 million of which are for the Europe and North Africa area. Italy accounts for only 2.3% of European sales. Andrea Pergher expects the global demand for blueberry plants to continue growing year after year, in line with increased consumption.
At Fall Creek®, they believe the market is still in an emerging phase: “At some point, it will stabilize”, he said, “but for 10 years now, people have been saying the U.S. market is stable, and yet it continues to grow. Plantings there increase by at least 10% annually”.
Currently, Fall Creek® directly manages eight nurseries worldwide: Oregon, Mexico, Peru, Chile, South Africa, Spain, the Netherlands, and China. “We open nurseries around the world to be close to producers. It’s for logistical reasons, but also to maintain direct control over propagation processes, ensuring perfect quality and plant health”. In addition to the nurseries mentioned, a new one will soon open in Morocco. Today, Fall Creek®'s high-chill plants, planted in Northern Italy, come from the Netherlands and those for Southern Italy come from Spain.
“The Retail Sector Will Soon Reject Varieties Considered Old”
Pergher provides an overview of what’s being planted across Europe within the Fall Creek® world: “ArabellaBlue® 'FC14-062' and LoretoBlue™ 'FC11-118' are the two varieties gaining ground in Northern Europe from our Collections. Among the standard varieties, we have consolidated Valor™ 'ZF08-070', Cargo, and Last Call. In fact, they now directly ask to plant the Open Catalogue varieties, which, in addition to the ones mentioned, also include Blue Ribbon and Top Shelf.
The five varieties cover early to late seasons in the North, and we believe they will be replaced with Arabella Blue® and Loreto Blue™. For the South, the only one until recently was Ventura, but now we have three very interesting ones: OlympusBlue® 'TH-1008' , AzraBlue™ 'FCM14-031', and KeplerBlue™ 'FCM12-038'.
Markets are globalized, and while it’s true that a planting takes years to reach full production, it’s only a matter of time: “The new varieties are larger, crunchier, and have a longer shelf life. Innovation has moved in that direction. In Italy, Northern plantings are being renewed with Cargo and Valor™. In the South, however, planting is still too limited, despite enormous potential.
We’ll reach a point where retail chains will no longer accept varieties that don’t meet consumer preferences. We’ve already discontinued Aurora production, and this year is the last for Draper. It’s an old variety, whereas Duke still holds its own because it’s the only extremely early one. But we’re working on replacing it. In countries like the UK, some supermarkets already refuse certain varieties. It will happen here too. In Italy, there are innovators and conservatives; the latter will realize the change when it’s too late. Competition will be felt”.
Turkey, Georgia, and the "-STAN" Countries as Emerging Players
In this part of the world, along with traditional production countries like Germany and Poland, there are emerging countries: “Morocco is planting a lot”, Andrea Pergher continued, “and among the emerging states are Turkey and Georgia, along with the -STAN countries. Russia has paused due to the war, but they also want to plant there”.
Consumption will continue to grow, and according to Fall Creek®, quality is needed to promote it, not just in terms of the product: “Service is also crucial. Blueberries must always be available, and consumers must be accustomed to eating them in large quantities. They should be offered in hotels, restaurants, and desserts. If they become a daily habit, consumption will increase”.
Training to Avoid Mistakes in the Field
Fall Creek® frequently visits the fields of its producer clients because it believes in training. In this way, the company, through its technicians, can help producers avoid mistakes, and there’s still work to be done: “There are many mistakes, starting from the planting stage: errors in varietal choice, soil selection, pruning, and water management. Blueberries have very particular needs”.
It has been five years since the ‘Blueberry Business Day’ event in Bologna, which Fall Creek® attended as an industry player. Looking at the cultivation landscape, Andrea Pergher had no difficulty identifying the most recent major innovation, the one that has allowed blueberry cultivation to expand, not only in Italy: “When pot cultivation arrived, in substrate, that’s when the game changed. Until a few years ago”, he said, “blueberries were only grown in Northern Europe because the soil was right there. Now, with pots, the possibilities are endless”.
Fall Creek® is Working on Cultivation Manuals
Changes are also taking place within Fall Creek®, where breeders are continually working on new varieties: “Not too long ago, breeders worked in a single trial field in a certain part of the world. Today, we have numerous trial fields to test varieties in different climates. Data is collected everywhere, both qualitative and quantitative, and then cross-referenced to discover the strengths and weaknesses of a variety and determine where it performs best. In addition to our trial fields in Italy, Poland, the Netherlands, and Spain, we also conduct trials with our most trusted customers. 
The new Collections, ArabellaBlue® and LoretoBlue™, have been planted in 111 different locations across Europe. We have seven years of data and only last year did the first commercial plantings begin in Poland. There are now 100 hectares. The goal is to eventually have cultivation manuals for each variety once they become commercial. A new team is working on this, with technicians gathering data for both the North and the South”, concluded Andrea Pergher, Commercial Co-Director EMEA for Fall Creek® Farm & Nursery.
