© 2024 Maine Public | Registered 501(c)(3) EIN: 22-3171529
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations
Scroll down to see all available streams.

Above Average Blueberry Yield Expected for 2014 Harvest

OLD TOWN, Maine — Maine's 2014 wild blueberry harvest is underway after a late spring, and officials say if favorable weather conditions continue through August, the season is on track to produce an above average yield of high-quality fruit.

"Pollination went pretty well so it looked like we got a pretty good crop set. Summer, although it may be warm now, it's been overall fairly cool and wet which is really what blueberries like for growth," says UMaine Cooperative Extension blueberry specialist David Yarborough.

Yarborough says harvesting started last week in southern Maine and is underway right now along the midcoast, with Down East areas, where most of production is, expected to start next week. He says harvesting should be done in the Calais area around Labor Day.

Ed is a Maine native who spent his early childhood in Livermore Falls before moving to Farmington. He graduated from Mount Blue High School in 1970 before going to the University of Maine at Orono where he received his BA in speech in 1974 with a broadcast concentration. It was during that time that he first became involved with public broadcasting. He served as an intern for what was then called MPBN TV and also did volunteer work for MPBN Radio.