BLUEBERRY CULTURE IN MASSACHUSETTS 



By John S. Bailey i, Assistant Research Professor of Pomology, 



Henry J. Franklin, Research Professor in Charge of the 



Cranberry Station at East Wareham, and Joseph L. Kelley, 



Technical Assistant at the Cranberry Station 



Blueberries, although not peculiar to the New England States, grow wild here 

 in great profusion. Massachusetts has received her full share of this gift from 

 Mother Nature. 



But man, being hard to please, was not satisfied with Nature's gift. He wanted 

 sweeter and larger berries. To satisfy this desire, the late Dr. F. V. Coville of the 

 United States Department of Agriculture started his pioneering work on the 

 culture and breeding of blueberries, work which laid the foundation for their 

 commercial cultivation. He produced and named several varieties with fruit 

 larger and more handsome than that of their wild ancestors. These varieties 

 were developed from the highbush or swamp blueberry, Vaccinium corymhosum 

 L., and have the growth habit, and soil and climatic requirements of that species. 

 Dr. Coville receiv,ed valuable help from Miss Elizabeth C. White of New Lisbon, 

 New Jersey, who provided much of the first stock for his breeding work and was 

 a pioneer in developing commercial production. 



Although relatively few acres of improved blueberries have been planted in 

 Massachusetts, there is a fast growing interest in their culture which has led to a 

 large demand for information about them. This bulletin is meant to serve as a 

 guide to those interested in blueberry growing. To make it more useful, sugges- 

 tions are given for better management of wild blueberry lands. 



Soil Requirements 



Because the highbush blueberry commonly grows in low, swampy places, 

 many people have the false notion that this blueberry thrives best in such loca- 

 tions. It grows there because it tolerates such conditions better than many other 

 plants and so has less vegetation to compete with. Removed from such com- 

 petition, the swamp blueberry thrives much better on a fertile soil than on a 

 poor one. 



The ideal blueberry soil is fertile, has a plentiful and continuous water supply, 

 is well drained and aerated, is well supplied with organic matter, and is acid. 



Since success with cultivated blueberries depends on growing large berries, 

 the plants must be kept highly vigorous. The need for strong growth is all the 

 greater because of the severe pruning required, as will be explained later. A 

 fertile soil is therefore important. 



A steady, adecjuate water supply is essential. A soil which dries out, e\ en for 

 short periods, will never do for blueberry growing unless water is somehow sup- 

 plied. However, too much water is as bad as too little. Although blueberries 

 will tolerate standing water from the first of November to the first of April, 

 excess water short of flooding may do serious damage. When a poorly drained 

 soil freezes, the plants are lifted and their roots broken (Fig. 1). Surplus water 

 during the growing sea.son is always harmful. The water table (the upper limit 



'The authors wish to thank Mr. F. E. Cole of the Worcester County Extension Service tor supply- 

 ing the information for the section on the improvement of wild highbush blueberries. This infor- 

 mation was obtained from experiments started by Mr. Herbert Reiner, formerly with the Worcester 

 County Extension Service. This bulletin supersedes Bulletin .317, which was published in 1935 

 and 1W6. 



