While the economy lags and many businesses are forced to make
drastic cutbacks, Georgia’s blueberry farming is booming.

“What was an infant industry in the ’90s has now grown
to an adolescent industry,” said Scott NeSmith, a
horticulturist
with the University of Georgia College of Agricultural and
Environmental
Sciences.

NeSmith recently completed a survey of Georgia blueberry
farms.
The survey, led by UGA plant pathologist Harald Scherm, focused
on growers’ pest management and horticultural practices.

Management Practices and
More

“We set out to find out what pest problems the industry
may be facing,” NeSmith said. “But the survey revealed
much more.”

It showed that Georgia blueberries are still grown mainly in
the southeastern and south-central parts of the state. Farms in
Appling, Bacon, Clinch, Pierce and Ware counties account for more
than 90 percent of the total acreage.

Georgia has 4,500 acres of agricultural land devoted to
rabbiteye
and southern highbush blueberries. The average grower now has
been in the business 14.3 years.

“The survey suggests the industry is healthy and
expanding,
and the area planted is expected to increase by 35 percent over
the next five years,” he said. “Our 4,500 acres should
be well over 6,000 acres by then. That’s not a fly-by-night or
stagnate industry.”

Southern highbush blueberries are becoming more popular among
growers.

“When we last surveyed the industry 12 years ago, a
highbush
industry didn’t exist,” NeSmith said. “Now, 8 to 10
percent of the crop is planted in southern highbush.”

Pest Problems on the Rise

Unfortunately, the survey did reveal emerging pest
problems.

“Blueberries used to be billed as a ‘plant it and leave
it alone’ crop,” NeSmith said. “You didn’t need to
spray
or manage it, and that was because they’re a native
plant.”

Growers can continue to manage their blueberries that way if
they’re happy with low yields and mediocre quality, NeSmith
said.

“But if you really want to step up and get high yields
and high-quality fruit, which is what the market is demanding,
it requires a whole new level of management,” he said.

“These emerging pest problems are going to require our
growers to apply pesticides,” he said. “Our job is to
provide them the best management practices they can
follow.”

The survey showed more than 80 percent of the growers are now
using fungicides to control diseases.

Growers Fight Fire Ants, Mummy Berry
and Cold

Mummy berry was ranked as the top disease problem. Left
untreated,
the disease can cause fruit to be wrinkled and pink and,
eventually,
mummified.

Growers said fire ants are a nuisance pest. They call midge
and flower thrips, which both feed on flower buds, their most
significant yield-reducing pests.

Blueberry growers’ most common horticultural problems were
identified as poor fruit set, drought and freezes. All of the
growers surveyed ranked “freeze damage during bloom”
as either a major or moderate problem.

“With the survey completed,” NeSmith said, “we
now know what areas we need to focus our research on.”