Konferencja Kamczacka - November 12, 2015

The edible blue honeysuckle conference in Poland spoken of by Dr. Stanislaw Pulta at this year's Haskap Day is now taking registrations.  The language of the conference will be English.  At present 150 Polish Zitoy equals $52 CAD.  The location of the conference is just south of Warsaw.

Poland Visits Haskap Day

Dr. Stanislaw Pluta led a delegation from Poland at this year's Haskap Day.  He is a researcher at the Research Insititute of Horticulture located at Skierniewice.  Here is a link to one of his black currant presentations (PDF file):  Blackcurrant Production and Breeding in Poland.  He expressed how interested growers in Poland are in haskap and spoke briefly in the afternoon.  It's nice to see this international interest.  Thank you for attending!

Second Helpings: Cooking With Haskap, by Lil Sawatzky and Loretta Bors

In the same fashion that the haskap berry is new to our tables, so likewise is a haskap cookbook new to our kitchens...making it most likely the first of its kind in the world!  And being so made it a challenge in its own right to produce.  Since it is still a relatively unknown fruit, a cookbook that highlights the joys of using it is by definition difficult to write.  Not only are recipes difficult to find, but the inherent puzzle of actually finding out how other ingredients interact with haskap, or even of proving the submitted recipes, are themselves at the root of this challenge.  Add to this their desire to accommodate gluten-free and low-/no-sugar diets and Loretta Bors and Lil Sawatzky have done a wonderful job.  Illustrated and with fun-facts added, their haskaptions bring recipes to life on the page, even as the results of these recipes will being flavour and zest to your fare!

Its contents include: Appetizers/Sauces/Jams, Main Dishes, Side Dishes, Desserts, and Methods/Preserving/Helpful Hints.  There is a forward by James Dawson. 49 pp.; spiral bound.

The cost is $15 + shipping, and you can order a copy by contacting Loretta Bors at: lorettabors@hotmail.com

Bon appetite!

Global News, Edmonton: Haskap, The New Super Fruit (10 Nov, 2014)

http://globalnews.ca/video/1664560/haskap-the-new-superfruit

Bob Bors: Announcing Haskap Grower's Guide And Visits To Grower's Orchards, 2015 - 2016

Dr. Bob Bors, 2014 Haskap Day Field Tour, U of SK

A sabbatical has been officially approved for Dr. Bob Bors.  From July 1, 2015 until June 30, 2016 Bob will be working on finishing up a grower’s manual for Haskap!  He is also planning on visiting Haskap growers, as his schedule allows.  In conjunction with these visits he would like to offer seminars as well as to provide advice in the field.  If a grower’s group, for example, were able to host a seminar, he would then be able to visit numerous sites in that region.  If, however, there is no grower’s group in your area this should not deter you from sending him an invitation if you are willing to invite others to your orchard who will benefit from his visit.

If you are interested in hosting an event or in inviting him to spend some time in your orchard you are invited to email him at Bob.bors@usask.ca so that he can start a database for possible visits.  In the subject line please add the words: Sabbatical Visit.  Please describe to him your interest and/or experience with Haskap.  He will need to know your location (your nearest town is good enough).  If he is able to be in your region he will be contacting you.

Remember, we at Haskap Canada ideally consider that Haskap is a resource that is able to improve an entire community as a whole.  Growers who also provide information and assistance to others in their region help an entire community to achieve a healthier, more bountiful life.  Your invitation to him should ideally reflect your experience at having done so, or your plans to do so.

During his sabbatical he will also be attending gene banks and nursery industry opportunities.  The invitation on this post is specifically aimed at growers who care about their respective communities.

What a great opportunity!  I guess that doctors still do make house calls!!!

U of SK Announces Two New Haskap Selections

The University of Saskatchewan has announced the pending release of two new haskap selections, Boreal Beauty and Boreal Blizzard.  Larger in size and mid-to-late season, these berries can hold the potential for bountiful fruit production throughout the summer.  These will be available in 2015/2016.

Winemaking With Haskap

It requires about 6 kg/13 lbs of haskap berries to make a batch of wine with the recipe that is posted on the U of SK haskap website.  In Haskap Wines At The U of Sk Fruit Program, Peter Reimer tells about what he discovered concerning yeasts, styles of wine, and gives a basic background for starting your own batch.  You'll need a 5 gallon, food-grade bucket, sterilizing solution, a sheet of plastic for the top of the bucket when you begin, a large carboy, a syphon tube, and the following ingredients: 4 kg / 9 lb cane sugar, a packet of yeast, yeast nutrient, potassium metabisulphate, and wine tannin.  (The later, specific additives only cost a few dollars and will provide you with enough tho make several batches of wine.)  The recipe works!  It's probably best to talk to a friend who has made wine before if this is your first attempt...but the results can be delightful.   Thank you, Peter!

The 'Privilege' Of Haskap

U of SK Horticulture Field Lab

When it comes to breeding plants it is relatively easy to genetically select and change a single physical characteristic in cross-bred progeny.  But try and change two physical characteristics simultaneously, and it becomes more difficult.  Try breeding for three characteristics, even tougher.  Furthermore, which of these characteristics are most-important?  Complex genetic formulas are not complete until each trait is properly weighted in that formula.  All of this is precisely what makes the Haskap program at the U of SK both unique and successful.  Breeding plants for a wide variety of traits takes resources...human, monetary, training, technology, oversight.  Here are just some of the traits that go into selecting a superior Haskap plant: bloom time, harvest season, fruit weight, fruit shape, fruit firmness, fruit flavour, fruit sweetness, fruit chemical analysis, bush habit of growing, bush vigour, disease resistance, productivity.

Their early Haskap breeding program was funded by plant sales, workshop fees, and volunteer labour.  But beginning in 2007 Saskatchewan Agriculture's Agriculture Development Fund (ADF) awarded three grants that allowed a 10x increase in Haskap research.  With the flourishing of Haskap orchards across Canada royalties from Haskap sales allowed for yet another doubling since 2011 in research both in general as well as in providing stipends to support graduate students involved in the program.  65% of Haskap plant royalties directly fund various aspects of the U of SK's fruit program; 35% of royalties goes toward a general horticulture fund and allows for the purchase and maintenance of equipment and facilities.  It is the success of this program that allows all Haskap growers to succeed.

The World's Best Information, Hands-On Learning: U of SK Haskap Day 2014 (Part 1)

Integrating the best haskap research in the world, and providing the opportunity for active participant interaction, the University of Saskatchewan once again hosted their annual Haskap Field Day yesterday.  Here's a snippet showing their Joanna-3 (Weremczuk/Poland) harvester in operation.  Due to heavy rain the night before they were unable to demonstrate actual berry harvesting as they have in previous years.  However, here is a video clearly showing just how the machine works...

http://haskap.ca

http://www.fruit.usask.ca/haskap.html

Wanted: Haskap For Export To Europe And Japan

If you have Haskap that is exportable to Europe and/or Japan, then please contact Hamish Graham immediately at:  maddog@me.com or maddog@icloud.com.

Thanks!

U of SK, Haskap, And North American Market

Haskap Berries, Antioxidant Capacity, Total Phenolic Content, And Health Benefits - A 2012 Study

Here is the abstract of a publication published in 2012 and covering antioxidants and phenolics in haskap:

Rupasinghe, H. P. V., Yu, L. J., Bhullar, K. S. and Bors, B. 2012. SHORT COMMUNICATION: Haskap (Lonicera caerulea): A new berry crop with high antioxidant capacity. Can. J. Plant Sci. 92: 1311 1317. This study evaluated the antioxidant capacity and total phenolic content as well as total flavonoid content of three haskap (Lonicera caerulea) cultivars, Borealis, Indigo Gem and Tundra, grown in Saskatchewan in comparison with six other commercial fruits using ferric reducing antioxidant power (FRAP) assay, oxygen radical absorbance capacity (ORAC) assay, the 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) free radical scavenging assay, the aluminum chloride colorimetric method and the Folin-Ciocalteu method, respectively. The results indicate that haskap berries, especially cv. Borealis possessed the highest antioxidant capacities and total phenolic contents, specifically total flavonoid among tested fruits, and could be used as a promising fruit source of natural antioxidants. The nutritional values of the fruits were also assessed using proximate analysis.  Strawberry possessed the highest amount of most minerals and nutrients, whereas the nutritional values for the three haskap cultivars were average.

To read the entire study for free go to either: https://docs.google.com/viewer?a=v&pid=gmail&attid=0.1.1&thid=13ec7e461f50d582&mt=application/pdf&url=https://mail.google.com/mail/?ui%3D2%26ik%3D8580447990%26view%3Datt%26th%3D13ec7e461f50d582%26attid%3D0.1.1%26disp%3Dsafe%26zw&sig=AHIEtbSrt5fySeU181oHsdaapwHDPVfS5A

or

http://ebookbrowse.com/haskap-a-new-berry-crop-with-high-antioxidant-capacity-2012-pdf-d463292541

Haskap Growers In Western Producer

Haskap growers, Carl and Sandra Barber made it into the Western Producer last month!

BIRCH HILLS, Sask. — Building a new fruit enterprise takes time, perseverance, money, patience and careful consideration...

Read the whole article here: http://www.producer.com/2013/02/orchard-owners-experiment-with-new-fruit-crop/

Meet Bernis And Jim Ingvaldson - www.haskapusa.com

Bernis Ingvaldson was a participant at this year's Haskap Day. She and her husband, Jim are currently in the process of planting a fruit orchard near Bagley, MN. She posted a wonderfully written article on her experience at the University of Saskatchewan Field Day last Friday on one of her websites. You can access it on PDF here:

http://www.honeyberryusa.com/info/2011HaskapDayUofS.pdf

In her write-up she includes links to her You Tube recording of the university's Joanna-3 Harvester at work:

http://youtu.be/QUC5OquV66E
http://youtu.be/2qhl0iKAgc0

The address for all her fruit-related sites are:

Honeyberry USA: The Honeyberry Farm (blog)
Haskap USA: Tracking Edible Blue Honeysuckles Across The USA (blog)
Honeyberry USA (commercial website)

VERY nice, Bernis!!! We'll be sure to stay tuned...

Haskap Wins Most Promising Commercial Award!

In the 2009 National Sanofi-Aventis BioTalent Challenge Competition in Ottawa last week, Kirsten Larson of the R.M. of Swan River, Manitoba, overwhelmingly was voted to receive the award for the project with the greatest commercial potential. Her presentation was on the neutriceutical value of haskap. She was awarded a prize of $1,000. Congratulations Kirsten, and thank you for representing us in Ottawa! Other recipients of ASBT awards can be viewed at: http://sanofibiotalentchallenge.ca/2009/05/06/smart-kids-2009-designer-wheat-research-breakthrough-wins-grade-10-saskatchewan-student-16-top-honour-in-national-biotech-competition/ . The firstplace winner was Scott Adams, a grade ten student from Saskatoon, who won with his project on 'designer wheat.' 'Smart kids' every one, indeed!