The harvest time has come for the earliest Turkish blueberry variety, says Gizem Büyükkeskin, operations manager for Turkish blueberry producer and trader Qualitas Berry: “Keplerblue performs very well under tunnels or in a greenhouse. Among the varieties we have now, Venture, Suzi, Atlas, Olympos and Azra, Keplerblue was the earliest fruiting berry. The caliber, color and hardness are very ideal. Only the first harvests tend to be slightly acidic. This is a very normal situation. This early fruiting may enable blueberry production to replace banana production. In my opinion it is very likely to be an alternative product for banana producers.”
So what makes this early variety a good one? Büyükkeskin states there are several things to look for in a blueberry. “All the characteristics we look for in a blueberry are present in this variety. Naturally, this pleases us very much. The plant shape, fruit characteristics and easy management are a plus for us when producing a variety. Our overall main issues to tackle are climatic challenges and harvest management, which we experience every year. We are taking the necessary studies and measures on these issues, in order to overcome them.”
Overall the Turkish weather did play nice this year, according to Büyükkeskin this has contributed to a better yield this season: “This year, the Turkish winter months have been milder than we anticipated. The warmer weather supported the early formation of the products. So far, we have not experienced any weather that would negatively affect the yield in production. The current situation seriously supports the increase in yield. In addition, we expect the production amount to double with the gardens that we will start harvesting for the first time this year.”
There could be very interesting times ahead for the Turkish blueberry industry: “For our company, the main markets are found in Europe and Russia. We also export products to the Far East and Middle Eastern countries. This year we will see more Turkish blueberries in foreign markets. This will be a new industry for everyone. Every year we see the blueberry production in Turkey almost doubling. The feedback on quality and the acceptance of the product in the foreign market will be decisive for the Turkish blueberry industry,” Büyükkeskin concludes.
For more information:
Gizem Büyükkeskin
Qualitas Berry
Tel: +90 507 951 3390
Email: gizem@qualitasberry.com
https://www.qualitasberry.com/en/