. Suddenly there was a draw to producing the cone-shaped flowers grown on high trellises and eventually dried to give beer its distinct bitterness and aroma.
It marked the start of a new industry. Michigan went from harvesting zero acres of hops in 2012 to some 300 the next. By 2017, there were more than 800 acres harvested, according to Hop Growers of America (HGA).
But a quickly saturated market, complicated by COVID which caused some bars and restaurants to close and ultimately resulted in supply chain issues, prompted some hop producers to rethink their investments. By 2021, the number of Michigan hops harvested fell to less than 400 acres — according to the latest HGA survey.
Despite a somewhat turbulent start, Michigan is the fourth largest hop producer in the U.S. It trails Idaho, Oregon and Washington, yet is the primary hop grower outside the Pacific Northwest. It’s an industry Michigan State University plant pathologist Timothy Miles believes has stabilized since its rapid ascent a decade and a half ago.
“Michigan’s hop industry grew the biggest and the fastest of all the states. We nearly reached 1,000 acres — which is a lot of hops actually,” he said. “Then a lot of the smaller size growers left. Now we have what I feel is a more stable industry. People who have really invested in it and they’re managing hop production very well.”
Many credit Miles, an assistant professor in the Michigan State University Department of Plant, Soil and Microbial Sciences and MSU AgBioResearch scientist, and his MSU colleagues for helping to meet the vast demands of hop production.
Establishing a hop yard in a humid, wet state like Michigan demands a jostling of hands-on tasks. Hops take three years to produce a full harvest and reach maturity. They grow on 20-foot trellises and training the bines — the flexible stems of the plant — to climb the attached strings requires diligence. Not to mention a lot of pruning and fending off disease.
“Hops are really difficult to manage and to grow particularly in Michigan where the weather is wetter and more humid throughout the growing season compared to that in the leading Pacific Northwest producing states,” Miles said.
Until a couple of years ago, the primary threat to hop production in the Great Lakes region had been downy mildew. The disease caused by a fungus-like organism called Pseudoperonospora humuli thrives in wet, humid growing seasons and can result in significant yield and quality losses depending on the variety and time of establishment.
Downy mildew presents primarily as fuzzy spore masses with the underside of leaves turning black in color, although appearances may vary slightly based on variety and timing. The disease does overwinter so early spring pruning can help to eliminate infected buds and remnants from the prior season. Pruning is also critical to increase airflow and light, helping to eliminate the chance of development of the disease which is most serious during wet and mild temperatures.
If infected bines grow and new tissue develops, the likelihood of spread is significant and decreases the ability of the new growth to climb the trellises. There is the chance to retrain new shoots, but yield losses are likely to incur.
Over recent years, however, Michigan hop growers have been equipped to address downy mildew, and even overcome it. Research from MSU, including annual Extension publications, has revealed what cultivars are more tolerant than others to the disease, and what fungicides are most effective in treating it. Perhaps most compelling is that growers now have tools to scout for it and diagnose it.
While providing guidance and practices on downy mildew has moved the needle, Michigan hop growers face yet another disease. One that sounds benign enough — halo blight — but poses challenges.
First reported in Michigan in 2018, the fungal disease spoils hop cones and is geographically unique in that it doesn’t impact the high hop producing states of the Pacific Northwest. While there is still a lot yet to learn about halo blight in Michigan, MSU advancements are already making significant impacts.
Source: michiganfarmnews.com
Photo Credit: pexels-elevate
Categories: Michigan, Crops, Harvesting