BLUEBERRY CULTURE 19 



Little grading is done in Massachusetts as yet. In New Jersey, where the 

 fruit is sold through a cooperative organization, all berries are graded to fixed 

 standards. Grading is done partly by the pickers, who pick only sound berries, 

 and partly in the packing shed, where the baskets are sorted according to the size 

 of the berries they contain. Both quart and pint baskets are used. 



Most of the cultivated berries are grown in New Jersey. There are small 

 areas in Massachusetts, North Carolina, Michigan, and Washington. North 

 Carolina growers are planting early varieties; New Jersey growers mid-season 

 and late ones. 



Prospective blueberry growers should consider the following: growing late 

 \arieties reduces to a minimum competition from berries shipped from farther 

 south; growing varieties which are easily propagated and cheaply pruned keeps 

 down production costs; care in the location of plantings helps prevent costly 

 failures; location near main traveled roads facilitates roadside sale at retail prices. 



The Improvement of Wild Highbush Blueberries 



There are many acres of wild highbush blueberries in this State where the 

 bushes are yielding much below their capacity because of lack of care. They 

 can be made to double or triple their yield without great expense or labor. 



In 1926 experiments were laid out on blueberry land in Hubbardston, Royalston, 

 Westminster, Ashburnham, and Barre, Massachusetts, to tr)- to increase the 

 yield of wild bushes. The treatments were as follows: (1) all large trees and 

 second growth shading the blueberries were removed, (2) the bushes were pruned, 

 (3) fertilizer was applied. The pruning varied from removing a quarter of the 

 bush to cutting it wholly to the ground. The fertilizers used were: nitrate of 

 soda, ammonium sulfate, urea, calurea, cyanamid, 4-8-4, and nitrophoska. 

 Different combinations of fertilizers and pruning were tried. 



The following results were observed: 



\. Removal of other vegetation increased the growth of the blueberry bushes. 



2. Pruning, where not e.xcessive, increased growth and > ield. Removal of 

 more than a quarter of the bush was too severe. Bushes cut to the ground yielded 

 a few berries the third year thereafter but produced no commercial crop till the 

 fourth \ ear. 



3. Fertilization increased the growth and yield of the bushes. These increases 

 seemed to be due to nitrogen rather than to any other fertilizer element. 



4. A combination of fertilization and pruning was much better than either 

 alone. 



5. The increase in production on the fertilized plots was due mostly to an 

 increase in the number of berries per bush. It was impossible to obtain satis- 

 factory comparative \ield records under the conditions of the experiments. The 

 bushes varied both in size and number per acre. Although the pickers were 

 assigned to different parts of the field, they picked in the fertilized plots whenever 

 possible, with or without permission. This is very good evidence of the better 

 picking found there. 



6. The berries on the fertilized plots tended to be larger, but the size of wild 

 berries varies greatly and cannot be increased beyond limits set by inheritance. 



7. Fertilized bushes had a marked tendency toward annual bearing, unfertil- 

 ized bushes toward biennial bearing. 



8. The berries on the fertilized plots were firmer during dry periods than 

 those on unfertilized areas. 



