Project Overview
Commodities
- Fruits: berries (blueberries), berries (other)
Practices
- Crop Production: crop improvement and selection
- Education and Training: extension, on-farm/ranch research, workshop
- Pest Management: integrated pest management
Proposal abstract:
Project Focus
Blueberry growers across the Northeast consistently identify
pruning as one of the most challenging and consequential management
decisions they make each year. In New England, highbush blueberries
are cultivated on approximately 2,250 acres, producing an estimated
3.9 million pounds of fruit annually and contributing roughly $17.5
million to New England's agricultural economy, underscoring the
importance of this specialty crop to regional farms and rural
communities (USDA NASS, 2024). At this scale of production, pruning
decisions directly influence fruit size, yield, labor efficiency,
pest and disease pressure, and the long-term productivity of
perennial plantings.
From the farmer perspective, pruning often feels high-risk. Many growers report uncertainty in identifying cane age, distinguishing flower and vegetative buds, and understanding how pruning timing and severity affect plant performance across seasons. This uncertainty frequently leads to delayed or inconsistent pruning, resulting in overgrown bushes, smaller berries, increased disease pressure, and higher long-term management costs (Strik et al., 2003). Growers also report a lack of regionally specific, hands-on training that translates research-based recommendations into practical, field-ready protocols. Existing resources are often highly technical or difficult to apply across the diverse cultivars and climatic conditions found in New England (UMass Extension, 2023). Farmers are seeking applied education that reflects real production conditions and helps them confidently manage blueberry plant structure to maintain healthy, productive, and economically viable plantings over time.
Solution and Approach
This project addresses these needs through the creation of a
regional Blueberry School; a soil health based, pruning-focused,
and IPM robust applied education program that places farmer
decision-making at the center of blueberry management. Pruning is
treated as the foundational practice supporting yield, fruit size,
plant health, pest management, and long-term productivity. Research
demonstrates that pruning strongly influences canopy structure,
light interception, berry size, yield consistency, and disease
development in highbush blueberry systems (Strik & Buller, 2005;
Cline & Schilder, 2014). Research and Extension work by Miles
(2019) further emphasizes that pruning and canopy management are
critical components of blueberry disease prevention, as dense
canopies increase humidity and leaf wetness, favoring pathogens
such as mummy berry and anthracnose.
The Blueberry School will engage growers through classroom instruction and hands-on field workshops focused on understanding soil fertility to increase sustainable nutrient management practices, recognizing cane age, bud types, and growth patterns in the field, and applying variety-specific pruning strategies. Integrated pest management (IPM) for blueberry diseases, insect pests, and weeds will emphasize prevention, monitoring, and informed decision making (USDA National IPM Program, 2021). Pruning workshops will be held on commercial farms, and season-long data will be collected to assess fruit quality, yield, and pest damage. This approach will allow growers to see how adopting recommended practices supports improved production efficiency and long-term farm sustainability.
Performance targets from proposal:
20 blueberry farmers will adopt structured, pruning-based canopy management practices informed by cane age and bud type recognition across a combined minimum of 60 acres. Eight key participant farms will document 15% increase in fruit size and/or yield compared to baseline practices, resulting in an increase of 16,200 pounds of blueberries and $82,620 in additional farm revenue, based on UDSA, NASS reports.