Exceptional blueberry crop expected this season in South Georgia

 

 

The early blooming highbush blueberry yield was down 40 to 45 percent at the end of harvest in late May after the crop was damaged by heavy rains and frost. Highbush accounts for 10 to 20 percent of the state’s blueberry production. But the more commonly grown rabbiteye varieties are plentiful, and many of Georgia’s 300 commercial blueberry growers and independent farmers are seeing higher-than-average yields of that crop.

 

 

Blueberries are a US$60 million industry in Georgia.

 

 

Last year, commercial growers harvested 35 million pounds of rabbiteye and highbush varieties combined.

 

 

This year, they’re estimating a harvest of more than 30 million pounds of rabbiteye alone.