Wild Blueberry Newsletter, April 2026
Wild Blueberry Newsletter
April 2026
Wild Blueberry Equipment Google Group
This is a new resource in the form of a google group which is just like an email listserv. The goal of this email group is for producers and experts to exchange questions, answers, and trouble shoot the purchasing, running, fixing, and improvement of wild blueberry equipment. Growers, Extension, and engineers see a need for better technical assistance when it comes to harvesters, flail mowers, burners, spreaders, fresh pack lines, and other processing equipment.
How It Will Work:
- Sign up by emailing lily.calderwood@maine.edu with the Email Heading “Add to Equipment Group”.
- Lily or a member of her team will add you to the Google Group.
Phenology Data Collection
Our team has officially kicked off this season’s wild blueberry phenology monitoring. We have begun visiting fields across Midcoast and Downeast Maine to track early plant development. These observations are a key part of understanding how weather and field conditions influence crop timing and productivity. Buds in the Mid-coast region are beginning to swell.
Click Here To Visit Our Wild Blueberry Phenology Page
Bud Health Sampling
Flower primordia are the microscopic pre-flower structures within each wild blueberry flower bud. Each flower bud has between 4 and 8 primordia that have the potential to become a flower cluster. Green primordia are healthy and brown primordia are not, giving us a decent idea of flower bud health going into pollination season.
In November 2025, our team dissected flower buds from 5 stems per phenology site to find that 3.3% of all primordia were dead from last season’s severe drought.
In March 2026, we went out again, this time collecting 10 stems per phenology site to find that 4.58% of all primordia were dead from last season’s drought and this winter’s conditions. Overall, there are a lot of healthy flower buds out there! These numbers are similar to those sampled in Nova Scotia using the same method.
2026 Pesticide Charts
2026 Herbicide, Insecticide, and Fungicide charts are now available to read and download from the Extension Wild Blueberry Site.
Click Here to Read 2026 Pesticide Charts
2026 Wild Blueberry Conference Video
A recording from our recent wild blueberry conference is now available online. This captures the latest discussions, research updates, and insights shared with growers this season.
Click here for the 2026 Wild Blueberry Conference Video
An Update from the Maine Wild Blueberry Growers’ Association
While the final steps are close at hand to formally establish the Maine Wild Blueberry Growers’ Association Ron Howard expects it will be a couple more months before it is completely established.
If you would like to be added to the Association email list, send a message to Ron at mainewbga@gmail.com.
2026 is the International Year of the Woman Farmer
The Maine Department of Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry (DACF) is accepting nominations for deserving Maine women farmers who represent all of agriculture, large and small, who should be recognized. Here is the link to submit nominations.
Events
Individual Farm – Extension Office Hours
Dr. Calderwood has set up Extension Office Hours across the wild blueberry growing regions of Maine this spring for one-on-one free consultations. There are a few time slots still available!
Cost: Free
When: April-May
Locations: Waldoboro, Belfast, Ellsworth, Machias
Click Here to Register or by calling Mary Michaud at 207.581.3175.
2026 Farm Tractor Safety Courses
Open to all interested adults and youth. Required for 14- and 15-year-olds to operate farm equipment for hire on farms other than their own. Participants will learn how to handle tractors and equipment safely, how to identify hazards, and how to minimize the chances of accidents. Federal Certificate of Training issued upon successful completion of the five-week course.
Registration now open for two remaining 2026 courses:
- Sidney – Register Now
- Dates: April 13, April 20, April 27, May 4, May 11 (Exam)
- Turner – Register Now
- Dates: April 27, May 4, May 11, May 18, June 1 (Exam)
There is a sliding scale course fee of $45 full price, $20 discounted rate (for youth 14 – 17 and those who can afford ~50% of the course fee). For more information, see the Tractor Safety webpage.
Mid-Coast Wild Blueberry Field Day
Date: Saturday, June 6, 2026
Time: 9:00-12:00 with Lunch to Follow
Location: Brodis Blueberries, Hope
Cost: Free
Click Here to Register or by calling Mary Michaud at 207.581.3175.
Downeast Wild Blueberry Field Day (Blueberry Hill Farm Field Day)
Date: Thursday, June 25, 2026
Time: 9:00-3:00
Location: Blueberry Hill Farm, Jonesboro
Cost: Free
Click Here to Register or by calling Mary Michaud at 207.581.3175.
New In The Marketplace
Our Wild Blueberry Marketplace contains links and listings for purchasing new equipment, listing used equipment and land sales, sourcing wild blueberry products, and more!
To add a Marketplace listing, please email extension.wildblueberries@maine.edu with your item(s) name, a brief item description, photo(s), asking price, location, and contact information.
Stuart Littlefield, chef and food scientist, is selling his Nyle Food Dehydrator.
The Nyle Systems Belt Dryer is a custom machine built in Maine, a continuous dehydrator for the purpose of drying Wild Maine Blueberries. The advanced air flow combined with heat pump technology not only evenly dries the fruit but does it very economically. The dryer utilizes 2, four-foot-wide perforated belts that are 20 feet long each. This allows a lot of drying space in a smaller footprint. Each belt has its own speed control as does the air speed. Stuart used this machine to dry frozen berries better than fresh.
Nyle Systems
12 Stevens Road Brewer ME 04412
1-800-777-6953
Model: HT54 Ser # 114850
Date MFG. 2011
Contact Stuart Littlefield for more information:
Bioactive LLC Oxford ME
Phone: 207.890.5959
10 ft Blueberry Pickover Belt
Made by Maine Blueberry Equipment. Great condition. Works perfectly. Just needs a good wash down after sitting in our barn for a couple years. We bought this new and then used it for 3 summers for 2 weeks each year. We have not used it in the last two summers. Bought for $4300. Selling for $3000 or best offer.
Price: $3000 or best offer
Contact: Maia
Phone: 207.323.1084
Email: maiacampaomor@gmail.com
Tasks
- Burn or mow fields that were not pruned in the fall. Check out our new burning factsheet. Pruning should be complete by May 1st but this spring certainly has been slow to warm up. Use Mesonet and Fire Weather stations to understand when conditions are right for burning.
- Early April (now!) is the time to apply Kerb herbicide for fine leaf sheep fescue (Festuca filiformis) if you did not in the fall and the soil remains below 55F. Start thinking about pre-emergent herbicide applications. Grasses and red sorrel are already green.
- Monitor bud development to track early phenology stages. Check out Seanna Annis’ mummy berry blog too!
- Sweep net fields for early insect pests such as blueberry flea beetle and spanworm.
- The middle to end of April is when we start to see mummy berry disease. Monitor the AgriNet mummy berry infection risk tool to guide fungicide timing and check the mummy berry blog. Scout for mummy berry apothecia in low or wet areas of fields.
- Calibrate sprayers again before the first pesticide applications of the season.
- Apply sulfur in prune-year fields if soil pH is above the recommended range.
- Continue pesticide license recertification activities if needed.
Sincerely,
Lily
Dr. Lily Calderwood
Extension Wild Blueberry Specialist
Associate Professor of Horticulture