Growing Berries in Central Oregon Project Update - Raspberries

Clare Sullivan, Central Oregon Small Farms Extension Agent, shares an update on her Western SARE Berry Trial comparing raspberries grown in the field and under high tunnels.

[@AnythingArtist]

Hope to get another update!

[@ol4509]

Hello. Thanks for the video. Can you share if these were grown with any synthetic fertilizer or pesticides? For the high tunnel plants, did you control the mites just by thinning or were other measures taken?

[@osuextensionservicecentral4952]

Here is what we did:
In 2019, thrips were a problem for both indoor and outdoor strawberries, and less so for raspberries. Thrip pressure was very high in mid-July and the plots were sprayed once with Mycotrol (1quart/ac), an organic insecticide (active ingredient Beauveria bassiana).
In 2020, spider mites were a problem for indoor raspberries Cinnerate was applied in late July and early August at a rate of 32 oz/100 gallons. Spider mite pressure seemed somewhat reduced after these applications.

[@OsirusHandle]

​@@osuextensionservicecentral4952
For a plot that big your best bet is probably buying local lacewing larvae for thrips, aphids etc. and predatory mites for spider mites. The latter is especially very cheap usually. Unsure in your climate though.