During the seventeenth century, settlers from England arrived in the New World to begin colonies. Immediately, they set about clearing the land and establishing farms for they could not rely solely on supplies from England. But the land and the climate were far different from what they left behind. Many early attempts at farming failed.

In the winter of 1620, the Pilgrims established a settlement at Plimoth (spelled Plymouth today). Many perished during the first few months, but those that survived went on to build homes and establish farms. Their neighbors, the Wampanoag Indians taught the settlers new skills that helped them survive. They showed them how to plant corn and how to gather and use native plants to supplement their food supply. One important native crop was blueberries!! The colonists learned from Native Americans how to gather blueberries, dry them under the summer's sun and store them for the winter. In time, blueberries became an important food source and were preserved, and later canned. A beverage made with blueberries was an important staple for Civil War Soldiers. In the 1880s a blueberry canning industry began in the Northeast USA.

Blueberry Terminology: Vaccinium is the family of all blueberries and includes more than 450 plants. . This plant grows wild around the world and there are many names given to different blueberries. For practical and commercial purposes we concentrate on three different varieties:

Other Terms: Many different names have been given to the numerous varieties of Vaccinium that produce edible fruits, such as Blueberry, Bilberry, Cowberry, Cranberry, Crowberry; Farkleberry, Lingonberry, Partridgeberry, Huckleberry (not the true Huckleberry, which is Gaylussacia), Whortleberry, and Sparkleberry to mention a few.

The Improved Blueberry

For centuries decades, blueberries maintained popularity in the USA, with a thriving commercial business in the Northeast USA and Canada. An important step in the development of the highbush blueberry industry came in the turn of the century. Efforts in the early 1900's by Elizabeth White and Dr. Frederick Coville to domesticate the wild highbush blueberry resulted in today's cultivated highbush blueberry industry. They selected desirable plants from the wild forests of the Northeast USA and cultivated them to develop blueberries that could be commercially grown by farmers. Their initial breeding work has resulted in the plump, juicy, sweet and easy to pick cultivated blueberry we enjoy today. Without this cultivation work we would not have fresh blueberries in the marketplace as we do today. We encourage you to visit a web site dedicated to the work of Coville and White at the Whitesbog Preservation Trust.

Over the decades, plant breeders and pathologists have worked to identify and enhance the desirable features of various cultivars of highbush blueberries. For decades "cultivated" or "highbush" blueberries have been improved through natural selection and plant breeding programs to produce an optimal blueberry with desirable flavor, texture and color for fresh and processed markets. Cultivated varieties have been enhanced to offer magnificent plump berries with deep, rich color and a delicious fruity flavor. These plant breeding programs have resulted in the development of superior berries both for the consumer and the food processing industry. Our industry owes a great gratitude to the many agriculturalists in the USA and abroad who have pioneered the development of the world highbush blueberry industry!

Growing: North America is the world's leading blueberry producer, accounting for nearly 90% of world production at the present time. The North American harvest runs from mid-April through early October, with peak harvest in July which is also known as National Blueberry Month. Highbush blueberries are perennial, long-lived, deciduous, woody shrubs. They belong to the family Ericaceae, which also includes such plants as cranberry, azalea, rhododendron, and heather. Like the other ericaceous plants, blueberries thrive in acid soils and do best in soils with a pH between 4 and 5. Cultivars require from 120 to 160 growing degree days to ripen fruit. Blueberry plants flower in spring, with flowers at the tip of canes and the tip of the cluster opening first. They are pollinated by bees. Fruit

Development occurs for about 2 to 3 months after bloom, depending on cultivar, weather, and plant vigor. Sugar content of fruit will increase during maturation to about 15 percent when fruit is ripe. Yields can be as high as 20 tons per acre (T/A), although yields of 7 to 8 T/A are typical of mature plantings. (growing resource)

The Modern Highbush Blueberry Industry

Today, the highbush blueberry is grown commercially in more than 38 states and provinces of Canada. Highbush blueberry industries have also developed in South America, Australia, New Zealand and Europe and according to the United Nations Food & Agricultural Organization, more than 42,000 metric tons are harvested each year. Although the USA and Canada are the largest producers and consumers of blueberries, the market around the world is also on the rise with Japan in particular becoming a blueberry-loving nation.

The Blueberry industry is segmented into two major market categories.

The New Frontier!

Blueberries are becoming more and more popular each day as new research discloses the health and nutrient benefits.  Visit the USHBC web site Health and Nutrition to view the very latest news on the goodness of blueberries!  (health page)