Little berries have huge potential

Kraspodnaya. Obilaya.

Street names in Kiev, Moscow or even Novosibrisk, Siberia?

On the contrary - the Russian and Eastern European names are on signs marking rows of small trees, many no more than seven to eight feet high, in an orchard at Wooddale Provincial Tree Nursery.

It's harvest time at the orchard. From a distance, the trees look like ordinary large shrubs. But move in a little closer, and we're not talking apples, pears or peaches, but branches almost completely covered in bunches of small, impossibly brilliant orange berries. There are so many berries on a single tree that it's difficult to see the long, thin leaves.

The names designate various varieties of a hardy large shrub known as seabuckthorn, is a product of the Asian steppes - native to Siberia, parts of northern Europe, central Asia, northern China and parts of the Himalayas.

The provincial government is enthusiastic about the seabuckthorn's potential and is growing them at Wooddale as an "alternative crop," experimenting with different varieties of the shrub to find out which is best suited for the province's soil and climate.

After six years of intensive research by Newfoundland and Labrador scientists, facilities like the nursery at Wooddale are finally showing that the seabuckthorn thrives in the province.

No tropical climate here required for growing this exotic berry. On the contrary, the seabuckthorn is perfectly suited to Newfoundland soil and the salty air that wafts from the Atlantic dozens of kilometers away. The plants, established about seven years ago in locations like Wooddale, Dr. Michael Bland's farm in Grand Falls-Windsor and Markland Winery in Whitbourne, are only reaching maturity now and acquiring their showy berries.

The plant could be the next big agricultural import from Newfoundland, as the Western world is only just starting to realize the vast nutritional and overall health benefits of the seabuckthorn berry, now being nicknamed in several articles as a "superfruit."

If anyone wants to grow them commercially, like Dr. Michael Bland, who is in his second year of harvest with between 3,000-4,000 trees, they are cautioned that the plant requires aggressive pruning to start with. One has to train the trees so harvesters can get at the fruit, he said.

"It's the first harvest of good quality berries," he said. "Each tree is capable of producing seven to eight kilograms of berries. With three to four thousand trees, that comes to quite a few numbers of tons."

He explained that to market the berries, they are frozen and then juice is extracted.

Getting Newfoundlanders to consume seabuckthorn juice, however, could be a challenge, despite the health benefits that outshine cranberries and blueberries.

"It might be even more difficult to market than fresh milk was in the past," he said. "It took many years. As a farmer, I saw a good few thousand gallons of milk go down the drain."

But even if Newfoundlanders don't take easily to seabuckthorn juice and berries at first (the berry itself is very tart, but the same can be said of cranberries before processing), the European and Asian markets would welcome seabuckthorn, as well as health-conscious North Americans.

Seabuckthorn juice is a common drink in many parts of Asia and Europe; it is very high in protein, vitamins C and E, and essential fatty acids. Just eight berries provide as much vitamin C as a whole orange. The berries are also rich in carotene, the same substance that gives carrots their colour and is supposedly good for eyesight.

Some providers of cosmetics and medical products also use seabuckthorn oil for skin therapy including sun, heat, chemical and radiation burns, eczema and poorly healing wounds. Apparently Russian cosmonauts even used sea buckthorn cream for protection from cosmic radiation.

"The fruit does well here," said Dick Oram, alternative crop development officer with the provincial government, who has been working out of Wooddale and has also provided advice and support to growers like Dr. Bland. "The seabuckthorn seems to be well suited to our Newfoundland climate. We're working on different varieties to see what works best in our weather and soils. It's a very hardy plant and when you look at the trees and all the berries on them, it's something that has potential for this province."