Why did we choose berries?
Our state, Jalisco, is Mexico’s greatest berry exporter. Just in 2015, Jalisco produced $907,56 MDD, making up 69.43% of the national economic value in this sector and giving employment to more than 500,000 people (INEGI, 2016; J.J. Flores, personal communication, May 23rd, 2022). Adding to this, they have a great nutritional value, as well as a diversity of antioxidants and polyphenols that can help improve people’s health (Lashmanova, et al., 2012).
According to Gallegos (2019), berry crops are the third most exported agricultural products in Mexico, just behind beer and avocado. In 2019 it was estimated that Mexico possessed more than 44,000 hectares of berries in the western states of the country.
Still, their production, marketing and exportation has become more complicated thanks to the recurrence of a series of problems, including fungal endophyte pests. These affect the quality and quantity of fruits that can be produced, causing 16% of the economic losses worldwide in different crops (Fontana et al., 2021) and may even trigger severe social consequences (Haverkort et al., 2008).
However, before developing our project, we needed to be able to empathize with the people who would be impacted by it to make a product they could really use, and continued to get their feedback throughout this process with the following validation path:
We started this process by organizing different interactions with our stakeholders through face-to-face talks and video calls to learn about what they were doing in the field, the problems they were facing, the tools and strategies they had to face them, and more.
First Interaction: Learn
Desk Investigation
First, we researched what kind of berries were being grown in Mexico and where were the main production areas, discovering that in 2019, it was estimated that our country possessed more than 44,000 hectares of berry fields, which were mainly located in the lower central part of the state of Jalisco, in the municipalities surrounding Lake Chapala, as well as Tala, Zacoalco, Arandas, Tepatitlán, Cocula, Tonila and Cd. Guzman. However, there´s also some other important production areas outside of our state, like Zona de los Reyes and Morelia in Michoacan.
Furthermore, it was found that Mexico produced large quantities of blackberries, raspberries, blueberries, and strawberries, making up 28.4% of the berry production worldwide (Rosana et al., 2016).
As can be seen in the following graph, each year, more cranberries get exported from Mexico (Rosana et al., 2016). This tendency is followed by all berries produced in the country.
It was also important to know who was producing and exporting these fruits to target our product to them. In Mexico, almost all producers have contracts with transnational companies since this provides greater safety in the market, financial plans, and technical advice. In addition, some of the main exporting companies are Dole, Driscoll’s, Sun Belle, Berrymex, Agrícola Cerritos and Berries Paradise (Rosana et al., 2016) and the berries are mainly exported to the United States, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, Japan, and Italy (CEDRSSA, 2017).
Regarding the political aspect of berry production, there’s a series of laws and regulations that need to be followed, including:
Interviews
Seventeen interviews were conducted with berry producers, agricultural engineers, and exporters both in person and remotely. The purpose of the interviews was to find out if the Botrytis cinerea fungus was one of their main problems, as well as getting to know more about their context and concerns to determine whether we should target this specific fungus or not. These interviews’ results are presented in the following graphs. It is important to mention that all interviewees agreed to share this information through consent letters.
It was also asked whether they would be interested in using a biotechnological product to treat their issues, getting a positive response from all seventeen interviewees. Last, it was asked what characteristics the solution would require for them to use it in their fields. Having a good cost-profit margin, safety, good yields, an organic certification, and the marketer’s approval were the main stakeholder’s needs.
Farm visits
Two berry production sites were visited in this first stage, where the workers showed us their production systems and answered some of our questions:
How are berries produced?
Bought seedlings often come with pests, which is why fumigations are done 1-2 times a week and a weeding process is performed monthly. An irrigation system is used for proper water management, being one of the most important processes during berry production. Also, diseases are also prevented through fumigations, as well as other techniques like the use of biorepellents and entomopathogenic fungi.
A lot of producers have turned to semi-hydroponics, where plants are kept in 40 L pots filled with specialized substrates like coconut fiber and vermiculite. This method allows better water management and plant nutrition. At the same time, it reduces the chances of disease by having better control of the plant’s root system.
Finally, producers reported that the best time to harvest mainly depends on the fruit’s price, with June-August and January-May being the best timeframes for it in the Mexican market.
How is it determined which fruits can be exported and which ones not?
One of the main factors is fruit size. All exported fruit must follow certain guidelines, and, in the case of blueberries, it is preferable for them to have their “bloom” layer, which can be affected by oily agrochemicals.
What are the main environmental problems?
Just as in the rest of the interviews, pests, water, and climate were the main problems, with pre-harvest and harvest stages being the most affected ones. Regarding water issues, these could be divided into contamination and scarcity. The level of land pollution was sometimes so high that there was no other option but to produce berries through semi-hydroponics. Finally. Regarding pests, there were some very recurring ones. The first one was Fusarium oxysporum, a fungus present in the soil that first infected the plant’s roots. Another common pathogenic fungus was Cladosporium cladosporioides, which was seen each time more often in the states of Michoacan and Jalisco. Red spiders, also known as mites, are a common insect found in berry fields. Finally, Drosophila suzukii, commonly known as spotted wing drosophila, is present in Mexico’s berry fields since 2011.
How are these problems currently treated?
The use of more resistant plant varieties has helped with the control of pests. However, different biocontrol methods that include Trichoderma harzianum and Bacillus subtilis have also helped control fungi and insects. Glue traps and a rooting process before planting have also been used to diminish these problems.
Problem tree
This first interaction gave us some clues about what berry producers needed in a product. First, it shouldn´t leave residues, second, it needed to be an organic product. Moreover, it had to have a competitive price, effectiveness and comply with the laws, certifications and regulations concerning berry production and exportation. Finally, it was important to us that the product didn´t alter the ecosystem in which it would be liberated.
With all of this in mind, the following problem tree was generated to graphically show the main problems in Mexican berry production.
In conclusion, it was proved that fungal pests were one of the main problems of farmers in the state of Jalisco and one of the reasons why their crops are lost and/or are not enough in quantity and quality, however, Botrytis cinerea was far not their main concern.
Also, the three main problems in berry production could be divided into water, pests and climate issues and the most affected stages were harvest and post-harvest. It was found that 100% of respondents were highly interested in accepting a biotechnological product that could solve their problems if it complied with their described requirements.
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