The Fruit Growers News - October 2001


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Georgia Blueberry Industry Poised for Continued Growth

By Greg Brown Associate Editor

The Georgia blueberry industry has come a long way since its humble beginnings. Today the industry stands in the top five states producing cultivated blueberries in the United States. Many of the state’s growers have grown from a small start of hobby growers numbering just 200 to 300 acres to approaching 5,000 in 1999, according to D. Scott Nesmith, University of Georgia researcher. The industry is looking to grow, too. “A recent survey of the growers predicts that acres will increase by 35% in the next five years,” said Nesmith. Not bad for a state that grows about 85-90% of their crop in a five-county area in southeast Georgia. Attling, Bacon, Clinch, Pierce, and Whare counties are the home of Georgia blueberry production. The coastal flatwoods area has been posting increasing harvest numbers over the past five years, as well. “The blueberry harvest in Georgia this year had another good, high yield,” said Nesmith. Between processed and fresh the researcher estimate the crop at 15 million pounds. “This year would be about our second highest harvest, after 2000’s record crop of over 18 million pounds.” Those estimated numbers ranks the state third in production this year for cultivated blueberry production. Nesmith says the industry is just getting past their growing pains, which is a positive compliment. As an adolescent industry, Georgia’s blueberry growers are set to grow. That description is based on a recent survey of horticulture and pest management practices of blueberry growers that shows about 65% of the acreage is cultivated with growers using everything from sub-surface drip to overhead irrigation. While many growers have been using it for years, others are experiencing renewed interest in overheard irrigation because it is used for frost protection on the early producing rabbittized blueberry varieties. Growers in Georgia have two crops of cultivated blueberries, according to Nesmith. Using rabbittized and high bush varieties, growers garner a early and late harvest. This type of diversification is also indicative of the rapid changes the industry has recently undertaken. “In 1990 we were probably 98% or more rabbittized blueberries,” said Nesmith. “Now the southern highbush has taken 10-12% and that is increasing all the time.” These two types coupled with Georgia’s great weather allows the growers two harvests, something other regions may envy. The growers can start their first harvest as early as April 15 - but mostly around May 25 or so when the blueberries come on. “Right now the interest is in the early market, which is where overhead irrigation comes in to try to make the early market,” said Nesmith. The berries are sold through various brokers in the United States, Japan and throughout the world. According to Nesmith, this early season fruit is high quality, high value fruit. On the whole, 40-45% of Georgia’s crop is sold as fresh fruit, with the remainder being sold on the processed markets for frozen berries, fruit juices or jellies. Based on a producer survey conducted in January 1999 to collect data on current production practices in the Georgia blueberry industry, the average Georgia grower has had 14.3 years of experience in growing blueberries. The survey conducted by University of Georgia Researchers, including Nesmith, Harald Scherm, Dan Horton and Gerard Krewer showed prominent changes in the in production process. Those changes included increased plantings of southern highbush cultivars as well as an increased percentage of the crop being produced for the fresh market. The survey also indicated a change in the challenges facing the growers. Pest problems have become more noteworthy, the researchers noted. Those pest problems are illustrated by the fact that more than 80% of producers now use fungicides. While using a variety of fungicides may be viewed negatively in the world uninformed of agriculture, Nesmith provides the data with a positive interpretation. “Our industry has become better at battling these pests. Previously we thought we were 25-30% on the usage of these tools. Today’s totals are near 80% because we have gotten better at controlling mummy berry.” The progress the industry is making shows in good harvests. “The survey shows the sophistication of our industry,” said Nesmith. “Previously it was an infant industry and it is rapidly becoming a mature industry.” In general, the state has between12 and15 packing facilities. The industry is built around their packing for brokers. The seasonal packing facilities service growers, some with farm backgrounds of other commodity such as tobacco, which was a big commodity in the five-county area. Blueberries are an alternative industry in that a lot of these people started with small plots and have grown, Nesmith said. “We figure we’ve got about 200 growers in a range of all sizes from pick your own to larger commercial farms,” he said. Another sign that the Georgia industry is growing is the creation of its own grower association, the Georgia Blueberry Association. With an eye to the industry’s past, Krewer and Nesmith recently detailed the history of the state’s blueberry industry. According to their research, the best selections of rabbiteye blueberries were assembled from private collections of wild seedlings and planted at University of Georgia Tifton Campus, beginning in 1925. In the mid-1940’s due in large part to the foresight of Cason Callaway, Georgia legislator, funding was secured to establish a blueberry breeding position at Tifton, Ga. In 1944, Tom Brightwell, was hired and a research site established in the flatwoods district at University of Georgia Alapaha Research Station. Brightwell and Darrow, Scott, Galletta, Moore, and Draper from the USDA worked cooperatively on the breeding project, releasing cultivars beginning in 1950 with Callaway and Coastal. In 1955 the first cultivar with good commercial quality, Tifblue, was released, according to the researchers. The industry developed slowly in the 1950’s and 1960’s with 40 hectares set in scattered locations across Georgia. In the early 1970’s, federal grant money via the Model Cities Program in Alma allowed for the purchase of mechanical harvesters and the establishment of a cooperative packing facility named the Georgia Blueberry Association. About 600 hectares were planted in South Georgia during this phase. In the early 1980’s, many Georgia growers joined the Michigan Blueberry Growers Association to enhance marketing opportunities.