Midcoast area There were suitable conditions for Monilinia infection from May 6 to May 7 in the fields with weather stations. The rain started around 3 to 4pm on Wednesday May 6. If you applied fungicides after April 26 to 29 (10 to 7 days from this past infection period, respectively), there is a good […]
Read more
Wild Blueberry Newsletter May 2026 Wild Blueberry Plant Development Bud stage T2 has arrived and some producers have begun spraying for mummy berry. There is a possible infection window approaching on Sunday with the rain forecasted. This is a critical stage to observe in your field because at this stage the bud has opened enough for […]
Read more
Midcoast and Downeast fields All fields likely had an infection period from May 2nd to May 3rd if they had plants that had about 30 to 40% of their flower buds at F2 (crown stage). The rain started in Waldoboro on May 2nd about 9am. In Blue Hill, Ellsworth and Aurora the rain started in […]
Read more
Midcoast With the warmer weather, mummy berry cups have been seen in fields in Waldoboro, West Rockport and Hope. Fields in the midcoast varied from 10 to 40% of the flower buds at F2 (crown stage). If the field had more than 30 to 40% of flower buds at F2, this would have been enough […]
Read more
Plant development Most plants are not ready yet. From the farthest south I have heard from, around Dresden Mills, there are some fields that are close to being ready. The phenology tracker report shows only about 1 to 8% of flower buds at F2 (crown stage and susceptible) which is what I saw in Ellsworth […]
Read more
Dr. Calderwood will be present at Extension Offices across the wild blueberry growing regions of Maine this spring for one-on-one free consultations. Sign up for an hour and a half time slot to discuss anything from field management, business planning, how to get started with a new field, expertise on a particular subject, to sharing […]
Read more
We’ve just released a new fact sheet, Weed Mapping Using Your Smartphone, to help wild blueberry growers improve weed management with simple digital tools. In this bulletin, graduate Research Assistant Patrice Sison explains how to use free smartphone mapping apps to record the location and size of weed patches so producers can plan efficient scouting and […]
Read more
2026 Wild Blueberry Spring Conference Date: Saturday, February 7, 2026Snow Date: Saturday, February 14, 2026Conference Time: 8:00 a.m.-4:00 p.m.Location: Moore Community Center, 125 State Street, Ellsworth, Maine 04605Format: In-person with breakout rooms, lunch, etc./Virtual: Available Join us for the 8th Annual Wild Blueberry Spring Conference! There will be coffee and breakfast items in the morning, followed by soups and […]
Read more
Please note the following event on October 22, 2025 has been cancelled. We will discuss topics including field mulching and irrigation during our annual Winter Conference in February, 2026. We look forward to seeing you there! During the 2025 harvest season, wild blueberry growers in Hancock and Washington Counties especially, experienced a flash drought. It […]
Read more
The Hancock County and Washington County Soil & Water Conservation Districts and blueberry farmer Laura Flannery will be presenting the second annual “Better Soil, Better Blueberries” Field Day for wild blueberry growers on October 8th, 2025 in Charlotte, Maine. Dr. Lily Calderwood of UMaine Cooperative Extension will be in attendance sharing research from her program […]
Read more