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Need Help Picking What Blueberry Varieties to Grow? There’s an App for That

Avatar for Paul Rusnak Posted by Paul Rusnak|May 28, 2021

Each new growing season allows blueberry producers a chance to gauge performance of varieties in the field. When harvest is all said and done, it’s normally easy to tell the winners from losers. What production moves to make for the next season can still be tricky. A new mobile app, however, can help Florida growers decide whether to remove any existing blueberry cultivars and/or plant new ones.

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In December 2020, the UF/IFAS blueberry breeding program released a new app for iOS and Android called the UF Blueberry Growers Guide. It was created to aid growers on the go as they scout fields for diseases, insect injury, nutrient deficiencies, and abiotic conditions. Developers have now added a new cultivar module to the app.

Doug Phillips, UF/IFAS Blueberry Extension Coordinator, and UF/IFAS blueberry breeder Patricio Muñoz, in consultation with growers and other UF/IFAS colleagues, curated the information to be included. The app contains detailed information on southern highbush blueberry cultivars released by UF/IFAS.

This data includes yield and fruit-quality data, along with information on Florida regions that cultivars are best adapted to, production systems, use of hydrogen cyanamide, machine harvesting, cultivars with overlapping flowering times and susceptibility to pests and diseases.

Munoz developed the vision for a new cultivar module for this app.

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“I talk to blueberry growers throughout the state, and one of the questions I get asked most frequently is which cultivars will do well in their location,” Phillips says. “This tool will assist growers in making cultivar-related decisions, with detailed information always available on their phones, instead of needing to look up publications or other information on a computer.”

The updated UF Blueberry Growers Guide app is available for download at:

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Paul Rusnak is the Senior Online Editor of American Vegetable Grower, American Fruit Grower, and Greenhouse Grower magazines, all Meister Media Worldwide brands. He is based in Northeast Florida. See all author stories here.