2027 Conference Schedule
**Subject to change**
Wednesday, January 6th
5:00pm – 6:30pm | NARBA Conference Attendee Social – Hyatt Regency Savannah Scarbrough Ballroom
Thursday, January 7th
7:00am – 9:00am | Registration / Check-In Open – Savannah Convention Center
8:00am – 9:00am | Industry Showcase – Savannah Convention Center, East Concourse, Second Floor
NOTE: All Educational Conference Sessions will take place at the Savannah Convention Center, East Concourse, Second Floor, Conference Rooms 200-205.
General Session: Conference Rooms 200-202
9:00am – 9:10am | Conference Welcome – Whitney Phillips Howell, NARBA President
9:10am – 9:50am | Keynote Presentation – Héctor Luján, Hortifrut
Breeding Breakout Session: Conference Rooms 200-202
Moderator: Ellen Thompson, Hortifrut Genetics, LLC
10:00am – 10:30am | Breeding Updates from PNW and Canada
- 10:00am – 10:10am | Michael Hardigan, USDA – Updates from the USDA-ARS/OSU Cooperative Caneberry Breeding Program
- 10:10am – 10:20am | Germán Sandoya, Washington State University – The Red Raspberry Breeding Program at Washington State University: Opportunities for Cultivar Improvement
- 10:20am – 10:30am | Michael Dossett, BC Berry Cultivar Development Inc (BCBCDI) – Update on Breeding Program and Newest Releases in BC, Canada
10:30am – 11:00am | Breeding Updates from North American Private Programs
- 10:30am – 10:40am | Kyle Rak & Janejira Duangjit, Driscoll’s – Raspberry Breeding for Year-Round Global Supply
- 10:40am – 10:50am | Isaac Magaña & Katie Montano, Plant Science Genetics – Rejoice: PSGs Blackberry Platform
- 10:50am – 11:00am | Jorge Venegas, Pairwise – Fontana™ Commercialization and Seedless Blackberry Early Field Test
Production Management Breakout Session: Conference Rooms 203-205
Moderator: Lisa DeVetter, Washington State University
10:00am – 10:30am | Mili Romano, Vexxel Bio – From Trichoderma Metabolites to Smart Delivery: Building the Next Generation of Biological Programs for Rubus Production
10:30am – 11:00am | Ryan Dickson, University of Arkansas – 10 Takeaways on Growing Blackberry in Soilless Substrates
11:00am – 11:15pm | BREAK & Industry Showcase Session – East Concourse
Pest & Disease Breakout Session: Conference Rooms 200-202
Moderator: Amanda McWhirt, University of Arkansas
11:15am – 11:30am | Sara Villani, North Carolina State University – Avoiding FOMO! Updates on Fusarium Wilt of Blackberry
11:30am – 11:45am | Peter Henry, UC Davis – Diversity, Detection, and Cross-Pathogenicity of Fusarium Oxysporum Strains on Blackberry and Raspberry
New Technology Breakout Session: Conference Rooms 203-205
Moderator: Amanda McWhirt, University of Arkansas
11:15am – 11:45am | Grower Substrates New Technology
- 11:15am – 11:30am | Richard Mills, Remmy Substrates – Long Canes in Coco Coir – Industry Update
- 11:30am – 11:45am | Chris Vaos, HortGrow Solutions – Beyond Soil: Next-Generation Substrates for Modern Berry Production
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11:45am – 12:00pm | Industry Showcase Session – East Concourse
12:00pm – 1:00pm | Lunch Break – Main Exhibit Hall
1:00pm – 1:30pm | Industry Showcase Session – East Concourse
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Pest & Disease and New Technology Breakout Session: Conference Rooms 200-202
Moderator: Amanda McWhirt, University of Arkansas
1:30pm – 1:45pm | Lorena Lopez, North Carolina State University – Thrips and Mite Species Complex in NC Blackberries
1:45pm – 2:00pm | Aaron Cato, University of Arkansas – Investigating the Impact of Thrips on Blackberry Fruit Quality
Moderator: Renee Threlfall, University of Arkansas
2:00pm – 2:30pm | Fumi Takeda, Berry Innovation, LLC – Managing Powder Mildew Fungus, Microbial Pathogens, Insects and Mites with Ultraviolet-C (UVC) Light Treatment
2:30pm – 3:00pm | Federico Guelpa, Biocentis – A Next-Generation Sterile-Insect Approach for Drosophila suzukii: Biocentis’ 2GEN Technology and Plans for US Trial
Berry Special Topics and Plant Management Breakout Session: Conference Rooms 203-205
Moderator: Karen Blaedow, North Carolina State University
1:30pm – 2:00pm | Marlee Trandel, Auburn University – Postharvest Responses of Blackberry Cultivars to 1-MCP Treatment and Its Impacts on Firmness and Red Drupelet Reversion
Moderator: Whitney Phillips Howell, PhyllaTech, LLC
2:00pm – 2:15pm | Hannah Lepsch, North Carolina State University – Blackberry Cold Hardiness in North Carolina: Seasonal, Regional, and Cultivar Patterns
2:15pm – 2:30pm | Lisa DeVetter, Washington State University – Chilling Insights: Tools and Strategies for Blackberry Freeze Mitigation in the Pacific Northwest
2:30pm – 3:00pm | Nursery Behind the Scenes and the Importance of Clean Plants
- 2:30pm – 2:45pm | US Nursery Health / Nursery Behind the Scenes
- 2:45pm – 3:00pm | Ioannis Tzanetakis, University of Arkansas – Connecting Clean Plants and Biotechnology to Improve Caneberry Health
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3:00pm – 3:05pm | Transition to General Session
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General Session: Conference Rooms 200-202
Moderator: Walt Webb, Lewis Nursery and Farms, Inc.
3:05pm – 3:35pm | Grower Spotlight
3:35pm – 4:00pm | NARBA Annual Meeting
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4:00pm – 5:00pm | Final Industry Showcase Session – East Concourse
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Friday, January 8th
General Session: Conference Rooms 200-202
9:00am – 9:15am | Anne Geyer, Agriberry Farm – A BERRYFULL Life: Small Fruits, Big Changes
Moderator: Michael Haridgan, USDA-ARS
9:15am – 9:45am | Breeding Updates from the Southeast
- 9:15am – 9:30am | Margaret Worthington, University of Arkansas – Updates from the Arkansas Blackberry Breeding Program
- 9:30am – 9:45am | Zilfina Rubio Ames, University of Georgia – Blackberry Cultivars for Georgia
9:45am – 10:00am | Rajat Pruthi, USDA / REE – ARS – Advancing Red Raspberry Breeding Using Haplotype-Resolved Genome Assemblies and Trait Mapping
Moderator: Michael Dossett, BC Berry Cultivar Development Inc (BCBCDI)
10:00am – 10:50am | Breeding Q & A Panel – Breeding Experts from Across North America
Moderator: Hannah Lepsch, North Carolina State University
10:50am – 11:10am | Angelos Deltsidis, University of Georgia – Consumer Preferences and Physicochemical Quality of Georgia-Grown Blackberry Cultivars
11:10am – 11:30am | Jayesh Samtani, Virginia Tech – New Blackberry Varieties: Yield, Post-Harvest Traits, and Sensory Findings
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11:30am – 1:30pm | Lunch Break & SE Regional Trade Show – Main Exhibit Hall
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Moderator: Marlee Trandel-Hays, Auburn University
1:30pm – 1:50pm | Dr. Elizabeth A. Bihn, Produce Safety Alliance – Minimizing Microbial Risks During Agricultural Water Use
1:50pm – 2:20pm | Grower Panel Moderated by Dr. John Clark
Moderator: Renee Threlfall, University of Arkansas
2:20pm – 2:35pm | Aaron Cato, University of Arkansas – Determining the Value of Biological Fungicides to Prevent Fruit Rot in Blackberry and Updates on use of Drone Sprayer
2:35pm – 2:50pm | Sean Sundberg, GUSS Automations – Precision Without Fatigue: How GUSS Automation is Changing High Value Crop Production
2:50pm – 3:30pm | New Technology Panel
Moderator: Lisa DeVetter, Washington State University
3:30pm – 3:45pm | Amanda McWhirt, University of Arkansas – Tipping Timing Impacts on Yield of ‘Immaculate’ and ‘Ervin’
3:45pm – 4:00pm | Lisa Rayburn, North Carolina State University – Impact of Cane Density and Lateral Thinning on Yield and Harvest Efficiency of Kwanza Raspberry in Long Cane Production
4:00pm – 4:15pm | Muhammad Adnan Shahid, University of Florida – Boosting Blackberry Establishment and Fruit Quality with Biostimulant
4:15pm – 4:55pm | Pest & Disease Panel – Pressures in the Southeast
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