OPENING SPEECH

In opening the second symposium of our ISHS Working Group, I would cordially like to welcome you to Germany and Hannover. I am pleased that you have accepted the invitation and in some cases have undergone long journeys in order to participate in the symposium. I'd like to express my sincerest wishes especially to those participants from overseas who have taken a trip across the Atlantic upon themselves to lecture to us on the latest results of their work.

I am pleased to greet the representative of the Niedersächsische Ministerium für Ernährung, Landwirtschaft und Forsten (Lower Saxon Department of Nutrition, Agriculture and Forestry) with great thanks for his appearance and the greetings he is going to address us following this speech. In addition to that Mr. Tubbs, the chairman of the ISHS Section for Fruits in England, Prof. Dr. H. Storck, the president of the German Society for Horticultural Science in Hannover, and Prof. Dr. G.I. Galletta from North Carolina State University at Raleigh would like to extend their best wishes and greetings to all. I hope you'll understand my refraining from further greetings of individual guests and participants.

Please allow me to take a quick glance back over the past. In 1964, at an ISHS conference of the Fruit Growing Section in Wilhelminadorp, the Netherlands, I proposed the formation of a working group "Blueberry Culture in Europe" because I was convinced that highbush blueberries, which are of such great economic importance in North America, ought to be cultivated to a greater extent and offered to consumers in Germany and Europe, too. My suggestion to form the Working Group was received positively and I was named its Chairman, as is the obvious thing to do in such cases.

The first Symposium of our Working Group took place in Venlo, the Netherlands, in 1967. It was a two-day event with approximately 30 participants from 12 European countries. An interest in highbush blueberries was evident in all these countries, however, there was a lack of own experience and trial. The problem as to which varieties were most suitable to be grown in Europe, seemed especially urgent. We were acquainted with the 'Blau-weiß Goldtraube' in Germany, but there was a completely different assortment in the USA, which was unknown to us.

For this reason, members from the following 12 European countries decided to carry out a variety trial on the 12 best varieties known at that time: Austria, Denmark, the Netherlands, Ireland, Italy, Yugoslavia, Norway, Poland, Scotland, Sweden, Switzerland, and Germany. In 1969, the same number of plants per variety were cultivated according to the same schema. Most researchers sent us a report on their trials each year. Unfortunately, some attempts failed and had to be discontinued. We will hear detailed results of this 7 year old variety trial in some lectures given today. I am planning on publishing a conclusive and summarizing report on these trials in a scientific periodical following the symposium. All members of the Working Group will receive special copies of this account.

Since 1962 we have also been concerned with cranberries at our Institute in Weihenstephan. We've been convinced that this species, too, is suitable and of interest for cultivation in Europe. However, we are still at the very beginning and we haven't had much experience. In the spring of 1971, I asked the members of our Working Group if they would be interested in cranberries and whether or not they'd agree to changing the name of our Working Group to "Blueberry and Cranberry Culture in Europe". I received an affirmative response from all members.

For some years now, especially in Sweden, Finland and here in Germany, the cultivation of 'Preiselbeeren' or cowberries (Vaccinium vitis idaea L.) has been tackled. The purpose of our work is to get the cowberries out of the forests, to cultivate them on arable land, and to solve all problems which may occur in doing so. We will be hearing quite an amount on this extremely interesting field of work throughout the conference.

It is my opinion, that we should once again rename our Working Group by giving it the final designation "Vaccinium Culture in Europe". I have assuming your approval, already used this designation in the invitation to this symposium. I am asking all of you subsequently for your approval.

Our symposium will thus be concerned with highbush blueberries, cranberries and cowberries. Hannover was chosen as the site for the symposium because the Lüneburger Heide, being situated here in northern Germany, represents the potential area for future cultivation of Vaccinium species. The natural local conditions, grounds and climate, as well as the marketing possibilities in the nearby consumer center are extremely favourable for the cultivation of highbush blueberries, cranberries and cowberries. These three fruit species could turn the Lüneburger Heide into a gigantic fruit garden paradise.

The ISHS Working Group is by no means an eternal establishment. It can be dissolved whenever its purposes have been fulfilled. Because we are actually still at the beginning of our efforts, particularly with cranberries and cowberries, the further existence of the Working Group is in my opinion justifiable. Since I have reached 65 and will be retiring from professional life, it will be necessary to elect a new chairman. May I suggest that we discuss the question of successorship amongst ourselves today and conduct the election tomorrow morning before the lectures begin. I hope you will approve.

The purpose of a symposium is to exchange mutual information concerning new trial results and experiences as well as the discussion of all relevant problems. I hope our symposium will serve these purposes. I request you to think about whether or not we would again like to engage in joint trials, and expect your suggestions throughout the conference. I, for example, am thinking of variety tests on cranberries and cowberries, fertilizing experiments, mulching experiments, chemical-analytical comparisons of significant substances contained in berries of various origins, cultivation attempts on valuable selections of lowbush blueberries, etc.

And now the Representative of the Niedersächsischen Ministeriums für Ernährung, Landwirtschaft und Forsten will address us.


OPENING ADDRESS TO THE 2ND SYMPOSIUM OF THE ISHS WORKING
GROUP "VACCINIUM CULTURE IN EUROPE" ON JULY THE 22ND, 1976
IN HANNOVER, CITY HALL (STADTHALLE), BLUE ROOM (BLAUER SAAL)

M. Merforth

It is both an honour and a pleasure to sincerely welcome all of you who have come to Hannover from overseas, Europe, and from all over Germany. I am doing this upon request by the Lower Saxon Minister of Nutrition, Agriculture and Forestry (Niedersächsischen Ministers für Ernährung, Landwirtschaft und Forsten). In all modesty, and with a certain gratification, I wish to point out that your choice of location for the 2nd symposium of the ISHS Working Group "Vaccinium Culture in Europe" was a good one, the reason being that the development of highbush blueberry cultivation in Germany had in two different respects, its beginning here in Lower Saxon (Niedersachsen):

1. For the first time in Germany, several cross breedings and selections were carried out and the various assortments were tested at the HEERMANN farm in Grethem near Walsrode.
2. Professor LIEBSTER became acquainted with this culture during his activities at our Fruit Growing Research Station in Langförden from 1946 until 1951. After that, he examined the biology of the blueberry, other Vaccinium species, and the prerequisites for their culture on a scientific basis.

We Lower Saxons are, therefore, very happy whenever superior experts having practical, scientific, and administrative experience meet in our state capital to exchange ideas and to further develop the achievements made until now. Allow me to make a few comments on this subject from a Lower Saxon's point of view without anticipating your discussion.

Starting with the HEERMANN plantations, the cultivation area for highbush blueberries has spread out to over 200 ha in Lower Saxon. The ground and climatic conditions in the different parts of Lower Saxon correspond to the cultivation demands of highbush blueberries to a very great extent.

This is, therefore, of special interest to us since this culture is suitable to locations on which other intensive cultures are not possible. Moreover, we often encounter agricultural holdings at these locations which are only to be kept as a full-time farming with intensive cultures. At the same time, the cultivation of high-bush blueberries does not cause any disturbances to the natural ecological circumstances of the space suitable for it because this culture hardly requires any ground or nourishment other than that of the natural plant growth of the ecological system.

We are interested to see that no hard plant protection measures are necessary for the cultivation of highbush blueberries so that the natural landscaping spaces used for cultivation, which have become so scare, are not influenced negatively as to their condition.

There is, therefore, a lively interest on the side of the Lower Saxon Ministry for Nutrition, Agriculture, and Forestry in the further development of highbush blueberry cultivation in our country, from the standpoint of smaller agricultural farmings, as well as the maintenance of these farmings in areas which are only slightly suitable for agricultural and horticultural intensive cultures.

In the last few years, we have learned to observe cultivation and marketing as a unity in agriculture and horticulture. Therefore, the problem of market development for the product highbush blueberries is to be mentioned along the same lines as cultivation expansion. For this reason, I am quite pleased that you have included the problem of marketing in your symposium agenda. Your product has been a rare article on the market until now. In addition to that, the Lower Saxon producers have mainly distributed their products on the market over a single wholesale house. Both have led to a favourable price development for the producer until now (1969 still 3.40 DM/kg, in 1975, already 5.70 DM/kg). In doing so, the harvest amounts in the northern area of Hannover have increased to a total of about 250 tons; in good years about 300 tons, and represent approx. 90 percent of the market supply with highbush blueberries in the Federal Republic of Germany.

If the cultivation should be extended to such a meaningful branch of production as is the case in the USA, then it would certainly be necessary to improve the highbush blueberries' degree of familiarity. In order to achieve this, directed measures would be necessary. In Lower Saxon, the collaboration with the Marketing Society for Lower Saxon Agricultural Products presents a possibility. I would be pleased if the Lower Saxon producers of highbush blueberries could gain status on the market with their new and special product.

Today I am speaking to a predominantly scientific committee. Excuse a representative of the Agricultural Ministry for heavily emphasizing the practical problems at such a conference. One such practical problem which should be solved is the organized unification of the producers in Lower Saxon. Other than the scientific forum, they require an organizing platform as a basis for the discussion of cultivation problems, sales organization, and advertisement. Above all, they will need such an organization in order to make progress on problems concerning the use of harvesting machines.

After the previous development years, the number of farms cultivating highbush blueberries has become large enough so that its organized unification would be meaningful. The so called "cultivation secrets" of the individual farms will become more and more a special knowledge of all farmers in the course of time. And it is now necessary to bring as large a number of farms as possible up to a uniform level of achievement. Uniform qualities and farm achievements are always prerequisites for an effective coherence of an economic group. I, therefore, would like to encourage our Lower Saxon farm managers, who are participating in this symposium and hopefully will often contribute to the speeches as well, to found an advisory council ("Beratungsring") or a producers' association for highbush blueberries in collaboration with the respective authorities. In this way, the Lower Saxon Ministry for Nutrition, Agriculture, and Forestry would also have a partner of communication in discussing the existing practical problems.

In light of this practical economic background, I would like to wish all members and guests of the Working Group "Vaccinium Culture in Europe" an abundant harvest of scientific findings. Furthermore, I wish that the conference might contribute to the deepening of personal contacts and also give you an impression of the 'Country and People' of Lower Saxon.