Georgia blueberry producers work 52 weeks a year to cultivate their crops and earn a solid reputation as one of the nation’s best purveyors of quality fruit. “Georgia is big enough that it’s grown out of the niche and is getting into a stabilized situation for return on investment,” said Joe Cornelius, chairman of the Georgia Blueberry Commission and owner of J&B Blueberry Farms Inc. in Manor, GA.

Not too long ago in the state’s history, volume in the range of 10 million-12 million pounds was considered good. Just as consumer interest in blues has exploded in recent years, Georgia’s growers are responding in kind with increased planted acreage and increased volume. “Now it’s up to 70 million pounds production [per year],” Cornelius told The Produce News.

The number of growers varies each year. But Cornelius placed the range at 350-500. “That number continues to increase,” he added. Land in production at the current time ranges between 20,000 to 22,000 acres.

While much of the state’s volume is sold domestically, Cornelius said opportunities exist to market the blueberries abroad “when market conditions are right.” He cited the Pacific Rim as a hot destination.

Looking at 2014 production, Cornelius said, “It looks like a real good crop coming. But we still have a lot of weather to go through.” The harvest typically ramps up in mid-April and runs through the second week of July. This season is running a little behind schedule, and the fruit is maturing slowly due to cool weather.

“The weather has caused havoc in the last few years,” he said of historic trends. Cool weather can also create some pollination problems. “Bees have to visit the bushes frequently to make it work,” he said. And cool weather makes them sluggish.

Rain can be a big deterrent to field work. He illustrated the dilemma this way: “In 2012 during the peak of the bulk of tonnage, it rained 19 out of 21 days.”

But grower spirits are not dampened in 2014, and Cornelius is hopeful about coming production and prospects for Georgia’s growing industry.

Cornelius was among those who helped get the commission established in 2008. The commission’s priorities have changed since its inception. “When we started out, promotion and education were primary goals,” he said.

Today, there is a strong focus on research efforts that will translate to healthier bushes and increased productivity. “One of the big pushes is nutrition for the plants,” he went on to say. “Understanding the practical issues will help growers. Maturity is an issue that’s changing.”

To illustrate, Cornelius said Southern high bush varieties can show good volume in two years. Rabbiteye varieties take three to four years to come into their volume.

“With new horticultural practices, we’re growing a seven-year-old plant in three years,” he said.

Groundwork is launched in the prior fall, and horticultural practices determine the success of the following year’s crop. “With blueberry plants, so much goes on from the time we stop picking and the frost bites,” he said.

Another area of research that has caught the industry’s attention is work being done to deter exobusidium, a fungus that can cause damage to both plants and berries. Cornelius said it is important for the industry to be proactive in determining the conditions under which the fungus spreads in order to control it.

“Consumer interest has created a worldwide explosion in blueberry production,” he said of the urgency to learn more.

Spores released by the fungus land on leaves and berries. When a spore lands on a berry, a hard green spot is formed that never ripens. Pale green spots form on the top of blueberry leaves, with the fungus evident as white splotches on the underside. The infection generally appears in the springtime.

Weed and insect control are also being researched to promote plant health.

The University of Georgia, Center for Agribusiness & Economic Development, released its 2012 Georgia Farm Gate Value Report last November. According to the report, blueberries were the state’s 12th most important agricultural commodity with a farm gate value of $229.2 million, accounting for 1.64 percent of Georgia’s total farm gate value.

Blueberries accounted for 41.88 percent of all fruit and nuts produced in Georgia in 2012. The top blueberry-producing counties that year were Berrien, Jeff Davis, Bacon, Ware, Pierce, Atkinson, Brantley, Rabun, Clinch and Appling.