Warm temperatures leaves blueberry crop unharmed so far

CASTLE HAYNE, NC (WWAY) — Who doesn’t love the taste of a sweet blueberry? Although it may be chilly now, this relatively mild winter so far could play a role for blueberry lovers and farmers later this year.

You probably couldn’t tell by just looking at them the different variety of blueberries, but depending on the type, depends on how well it withstands the climate. That’s what they are testing here at the Horticultural Crops Research Station in Castle Hayne.

NC State Extension Specialist Bill Cline says at this point it’s too early to say whether we are out of the woods but so far, it’s been a typical season.

“This year temperatures have stayed cold,” Cline said. “We are having cold weather at the moment and so they are remaining partially dormant and they can withstand cold temperatures quite well.”

Cline says the sandy soil here in southeastern NC is one of the biggest reasons why blueberries thrive. In fact, Bladen County is one of the biggest producers of blueberries in the state.

“Probably half of the commercial acreage in North Carolina is in Bladen County and the most of the rest of it in the counties surrounding Bladen,” Cline said.

If it comes to early or late, the final few freezes could make or break a season.

One project Cline is working on is advancing technology and figuring out how to pick blueberries using a machine. For the most part, farmers still have hand labor which is quite expensive.

“Can we develop a blueberry variety that you can drive down the row that you can pick with a harvester?” Cline said. “There is some of that done now, but we would like to work toward one that is more adaptable to that.”

Cline says they are testing about 50 variety of blueberries currently in the field but will likely only recommend a short list to farmers.

The North Carolina harvesting season is late May through middle of June.