Jan 17, 2025

Mississippi blueberries growing in popularity, challenges

In Mississippi, blueberries are growing in popularity, but are not without production challenges.

Blueberries celebrated their one- year anniversary as the official state fruit of Mississippi, joining well- known magnolias and mockingbirds as symbols of the state.

A group of fourth graders from Madison County lobbied the state legislature to give blueberries this honor. They backed their bid for this state title with research-backed information they found on the Mississippi State University Extension website. “My class was the brain behind the project, and your website is what led us to picking the blueberry,” Lisa Parenteau, the students’ teacher, said of MSU Extension in a tweet.

Mississippi grows conventional and organic blueberries. The state, which grows Rabbiteye and Southern Highbush varieties, is the 11th largest producing state, according to the USDA.

Blueberries have grown in popularity over the last two decades. Americans now consume more than 2 pounds of blueberries annually, up significantly from the 0.3 pounds they ate at the turn of the century.

Despite their popularity and elevated status in the state, the blueberry industry in Mississippi has an uphill battle to remain strong.

The way blueberries were grown for decades in the state is no longer as economically viable as it once was.

“For a long time, small growers had a crop that they took to a co-op to sell through a wholesaler to other markets,” said MSU Extension fruit specialist Eric Stafne. “Now the wholesalers are demanding higher quality fruit than most small growers can provide due to old varieties, changing environmental factors or other management practices.”

Mississippi growers who decide to shift to a new variety face a time- consuming and expensive process.

“Depending on how fast the new bushes grow, the first harvest for new bushes usually begins in about year three,” Stafne said. Stafne said blueberry producers who want to compete in the whole- sale market must adopt new varieties, add irrigation, implement better spray programs, and use improved harvest technology and frost protection.

“These changes are necessary for growers with significant blueberry acreage, but small and mid-size growers may not have the capital to implement these changes, or it may not be cost effective based on size of the operation,” Stafne said.

Unpredictable weather also has an impact. The freeze in March 2023 devastated the blueberry crop, but droughts present even more challenges. “Drought can damage root systems, causing them to shrink in size, and they may not fully support the entire bush, especially when it has set a full crop,” Stafne said.

The majority of blueberry farms in Mississippi are small-scale operations. The 2022 U.S. Census of Agriculture reports Mississippi has 493 blueberry farms with just under 1,000 acres in production.

Elizabeth Canales Medina, an MSU Extension agricultural economist, said in a regular year, blueberry production in the state is valued at about $13 million.

“Despite the challenges facing the industry, Mississippi growers can take advantage of significant market opportunities,” Medina said.

Blueberry farms that remain commercially successful must continue to adapt to current market demands, and there may be a shift to adopt new, improved blueberry varieties.

“This would require investment like any other business, along with careful consideration and long-term planning,” Medina said.

With all these challenges, Stafne said many blueberry growers are looking to explore other crop options such as pecans, blackberries, grapes, tea and muscadines. But for those wanting to stay in the blueberry business, Stafne said the state’s commercial blueberry industry is capable of making the next set of changes necessary to be competitive.

Those selling wholesale blueberries must manage the labor market which is expensive and difficult. While many farms still pick blueberries by hand, machine harvesters are becoming more common.

“The challenge is to avoid bruising the fruit, which leads to lower fruit quality and a shorter shelf life,” Stafne said. “Some improvements can be made on the machine side and some with variety selection. If these problems associated with machine harvest can be mitigated, then we will prob- ably see much more of that type of harvesting in the future.”

MSU provides a variety of support to the fruit industry in the state through workshops and short courses, the establishment of best management practices and integrated pest management recommendations, in addition to in-person assistance from specialists.

The information was recently published in a Mississippi Market Bulletin from the Mississippi Department of Agriculture & Commerce.

— Bonnie Coblentz, Mississippi State University Extension Service