MANAGEMENT PROGRAMS FOR THE LOWBUSH BLUEBERRY: NATIVE STAND VS. CULTIVATED CLONES AND SEEDLINGS

Abstract

An economic analysis was carried out using costs and returns for the establishment of a 3-ha planting of a mixture of cultivated lowbush blueberry clones and seedlings and the establishment of a similar sized native stand of wild blueberries. Two management programs were applied to two 3-ha cultivated stands and these were compared with the traditional crop-burn-crop program used in the native stand. Capital and startup costs were higher for the cultivated blueberry stand, but crop productivity and returns were also higher. Over a 20-yr lifetime, internal rates of return (IRR) averaged 10% higher for cultivated stands. A 20% market price drop would result in a 6–7% IRR decrease for the cultivated stand; however, the resultant 15% IRR is still an acceptable return. In contrast, a similar price drop for the native stand product caused the IRR to drop from 11% to zero. However, should market price be equivalent for native and cultivated stands, the IRR for the native stand is higher at all prices. With the native stand IRR at 11%, there has to be a 40–45c kg−1 price differential against the cultivated stand in order for all IRR values to be similar.Key words: Economics, internal rate of return (IRR), sensitivity analysis, Vaccinium angustifolium Ait.