Abstract
Bird damage to fruit is a long-standing challenge for growers that imposes significant costs because of yield losses and grower efforts to manage birds. We measured bird damage in ‘Bluecrop’ blueberry fields and Pinot noir vineyards in 2012–2014 in Michigan to investigate how year, grower, and forest cover influenced the proportions of bird damage. We tested whether inflatable tubemen (2013–2014) and a methyl anthranilate spray (2015) reduced bird damage in blueberries, and tested the deterrent effect of inflatable tubemen in grapes (2014). Years when crop yield was lower tended to have a higher damage percentage; for blueberries, bird damage was highest in 2012, and in grapes, damage was highest in 2012 and 2014. Neither blueberry fields nor vineyards with inflatable tubemen showed significantly reduced bird damage, although the blueberry fields showed a non-significant trend toward lower damage in the tubemen blocks. Blueberry field halves treated with the methyl anthranilate spray had equivalent bird damage to untreated halves. Our results correspond to previous work showing that percent bird damage varies by year, which was likely because bird consumption of fruit is relatively constant over time, while fruit yield varies. Fruit growers should expect a higher proportion of bird damage in low-fruit contexts, such as low-yield years, and prepare to invest more in bird management at those times. Investigating patterns of bird damage and testing deterrent strategies remain challenges. Bird activity is spatially and temporally variable, and birds’ mobility necessitates tests at large scales.
Highlights
Cultivated blueberry (Vaccinium corymbosum L.) production in the United States (U.S.) more than doubled between 2005–2016 to nearly 272 million kilograms (600 million pounds), which was valued at over 700 million dollars [1,2]
Growers from Michigan, New York, Oregon, California, and Washington estimated that bird damage to blueberries in 2011 was between 3.8–18.2%, and bird damage to wine grapes was between 2.9–9.2% [5]
We found some evidence of spatial influences; bird damage to sweet cherries was lower in blocks surrounded by other sweet cherries than in blocks surrounded by non-sweet cherry land-cover types
Summary
Cultivated blueberry (Vaccinium corymbosum L.) production in the United States (U.S.) more than doubled between 2005–2016 to nearly 272 million kilograms (600 million pounds), which was valued at over 700 million dollars [1,2]. U.S grape (Vitis vinifera L.) production stayed steady between 2005–2016, at somewhat over six million metric tons (seven and a half million short tons), the value nearly tripled to a price of $1500/short ton [1,2]. Growers from Michigan, New York, Oregon, California, and Washington estimated that bird damage to blueberries in 2011 was between 3.8–18.2%, and bird damage to wine grapes was between 2.9–9.2% [5]. Using these estimates with state price and production data, we calculated that, for example, bird damage costs Michigan blueberry growers over $14 million annually, and California wine grape growers over $49 million [5]. Given the size of the blueberry and wine grape industries, the documented health benefits of fruit and vegetable consumption [6,7], and the yield loss to pest birds, improving the understanding and management of pest birds will have economic benefits for both growers and consumers and increase the health of society
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