Blueberries
New York State has a little more than 700 acres of blueberries in production yielding about 2 million pounds of blueberries annually making it the 9th most important blueberry production state in the nation. Increased consumer interest in dark colored fruit containing high amounts of healthful antioxidants has resulted in many more acres being planted over the past several years. This is despite the soil pH requirement of 4.5 that blueberries, a member of the acid-loving Ericaceae family require.It takes nearly 8 years for blueberries to reach their mature production, but a well maintained planting can remain economically viable for up to 40 years or more yielding in excess of 10,000 lbs/acre. Ninety-five percent of this production is hand-picked and sold as fresh fruit with the remaining 5% going to value added products.
Highbush blueberries are grown throughout the majority of the state, but in northern NY and the Adirondacks, cultivars that are crosses between the Maine low-bush and northern high-bush blueberries result in a smaller bush that is much more winter hardy. The threat from late spring frosts remains a challenge to blueberry growers throughout the state. Blueberries have a relatively small pest complex making it a favorite berry for organic production.
For more information about blueberry production, visit the Cornell Berry website.
Labeled Insecticides for Control of Spotted Wing Drosophila in NY Berry Crops
Laura McDermott, Team Leader, Small Fruit and Vegetable Specialist
Eastern New York Commercial Horticulture
Labeled Insecticides for Control of Spotted Wing Drosophila in New York Berry Crops - Quick Guide
Updated May 2024
2023 Labeled Insecticides for Control of Spotted Wing Drosophila in NY Berries
Laura McDermott, Team Leader, Small Fruit and Vegetable Specialist
Eastern New York Commercial Horticulture
May 2023 - Labeled Insecticides for Control of Spotted Wing Drosophila in New York Berry Crops - Quick Guide
Irrigation for Berry Production
Laura McDermott, Team Leader, Small Fruit and Vegetable Specialist
Eastern New York Commercial Horticulture
SWD Insecticides Quick Guide 2020
Laura McDermott, Team Leader, Small Fruit and Vegetable Specialist
Eastern New York Commercial Horticulture
June 2020 - Labeled Insecticides for Control of Spotted Wing Drosophila in New York Berry Crops - Quick Guide
Labeled Insecticides for Control of Spotted Wing Drosophila
Laura McDermott, Team Leader, Small Fruit and Vegetable Specialist
Eastern New York Commercial Horticulture
June 2018 - Labeled Insecticides for Control of Spotted Wing Drosophila in New York Berry Crops - Quick Guide
Cranberry Fruitworms - a significant pest in blueberries.
Laura McDermott, Team Leader, Small Fruit and Vegetable Specialist
Eastern New York Commercial Horticulture
Fruitworms overwinter as larvae and pupate in the spring, emerging as adult moths after the start of bloom and usually before early fruit set. Moths move into blueberry plantings when fruit is small and lay eggs directly on the fruit. The larvae hatch and tunnel into the fruit and begin feeding. Find out how to control these pests here!
Managing Anthracnose Fruit Rot of Blueberries
Laura McDermott, Team Leader, Small Fruit and Vegetable Specialist
Eastern New York Commercial Horticulture
Anthracnose is a serious pre- and post-harvest fruit rot in most blueberry growing regions. The flowers are infected early in the spring. The fruit rot appears on ripe fruit with orange spore masses. Find out how to manage this disease here.
Early Season Weed Control in Berry Crops
Laura McDermott, Team Leader, Small Fruit and Vegetable Specialist
Eastern New York Commercial Horticulture
2018 Eastern New York Fruit & Vegetable Conference Small Fruit Presentations
Presentations from the 2018 ENYCHP Eastern New York Fruit & Vegetable Conference held February 20th and 21st for the small fruit section.
Labeled Insecticides for Control of Spotted Wing Drosophila in New York Berries
A Quick Guide to Labeled Insecticides for Control of Spotted Wing Drosophila in New York Berry Crops
Compiled by Greg Loeb, Laura McDermott, Peter Jentsch, Tess Grasswitz, & Juliet Carroll, Cornell University. Updated regularly.
Insecticides to Control Spotted Wing Drosophila
Current 2016 SWD Insecticides and Rates
2016 SWD Exclusion Study- SARE Project Report
Abigail Henderson, Senior Administrative Assistant
Eastern New York Commercial Horticulture
The use of insect netting on existing bird netting support systems to exclude spotted-wing Drosophila from a mature small-scale commercial highbush blueberry planting
2016 Berry School - Disease Diagnosis Talk
Anne Mills, Field Technician
Eastern New York Commercial Horticulture
2016 Berry School - Disease Management Talk
Anne Mills, Field Technician
Eastern New York Commercial Horticulture
Berry School 2016- Blueberry Pruning and Rejuvination
Anne Mills, Field Technician
Eastern New York Commercial Horticulture
Berry School 2016- Small Fruit Resources
Anne Mills, Field Technician
Eastern New York Commercial Horticulture
The Commercial Storage of Fruits, Vegetables, and Florist and Nursery Stocks
Craig Kahlke, Team Leader, Fruit Quality Management
Lake Ontario Fruit Program
The information contained in this preliminary version of HB-66 has been assembled from information prepared by nearly 100 authors from around the world. The version posted here is a revised copy of a Draft made available online in November 2002 for author and public review and comment.
Blueberry Specific Insecticides for SWD
Laura McDermott, Team Leader, Small Fruit and Vegetable Specialist
Eastern New York Commercial Horticulture
Cranberry and Cherry Fruit Worm
A number of growers have been calling with a question about blueberry clusters strung together with webbing or frass or both. Most people cannot find a larvae (although they are there!), but are alarmed with picker complaints. The pest in question is fruit worm either cranberry or cherry. Both insects have very similar life cycles and the damage is similar, but the chemical control materials differ slightly, so it will be important to be able to differentiate.
The adult moths lay their eggs in late May and early June at the base of the newly set fruit. Larvae of both
species attack green fruit. There are sex pheromones available for both pests and monitoring should begin in late April to optimize spray timing. Usually two sprays are necessary the first at petal fall and the second 10 days later. Organically approved materials include Entrust and Dipel DF. Other materials include Azasol, or Molt-X, Sevin, Malathion, Imidan, Esteem and Delegate, among others.
Check the Guidelines for more control information and visit this site for fact sheets about fruitworms: http://www.fruit.cornell.edu/berry/ipm/ipmpdfs/bbfruitworm.pdf
Effects of Fruit Cooling on Spotted Wing Drosophila
Spotted Winged Drosophila found locally and throughout New York and New England
Laura McDermott, Team Leader, Small Fruit and Vegetable Specialist
Eastern New York Commercial Horticulture
In light of these findings, blueberry, summer and fall raspberry and day-neutral strawberry growers are urged to be vigilant about this pest.
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Upcoming Events
New York State Agritourism Conference
November 10 - November 11, 2025 : New York State Agritourism Conference
Saratoga Springs, NY
The first-ever New York State Agritourism Conference, hosted by the CCE Agritourism Program Work Team, is designed to support farms in growing successful visitor experiences. This statewide gathering will feature expert-led sessions, peer networking, and practical tools to help farms expand direct sales, education, hospitality, and entertainment offerings.
Date:
- November 10: A full day of educational sessions targeted at beginning or experienced agritourism operators.
- November 11: A half-day, interactive networking session with fellow attendees.
ASL 104sp Seleccion y organizacion del personal (Staffing and Organizing Your Team) taught in Spanish
November 12, 2025 : ASL 104sp Selección y organización del personal (Staffing and Organizing Your Team) in Spanish
ASL104-SP: Selección y organización del personal (Staffing and Organizing Your Team - impartido en español) ¡Inscripciones abiertas!
En este curso identificamos cómo escribir descripciones de puestos disponibles en el trabajo para atraer a los mejores candidatos. Aprenderá a encontrar empleados con un perfil deseado, cómo entrevistar y seleccionar a las personas adecuadas. Descubrirá cómo completar la documentación de nuevos empleados, la autorización de empleo y la contratación de personal (on-boarding): es decir, cómo efectivamente incorporar nuevos empleados al rancho en una manera exitosa y productiva.
Los temas incluyen:
- Convertirse en un lugar de trabajar preferido
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- Cómo evitar favoritismos y discriminación
- Cómo buscar y entrevistar los nuevos trabajadores
- Cómo decidir a quién contratar
- Y cómo dar una buena bienvenida al nuevo trabajador
Inicio del curso: miércoles, 12 de noviembre de 2025
Discusiones en vivo por Zoom: Cada martes 18 de noviembre - 23 de diciembre, de 1:00 a 2:00 p.m. (hora del Este)
ASL 105 Employee Development and Training
November 17, 2025 : ASL 105: Employment Development and Training
ASL105: Employee Development and Training
Three leadership practices are essential for supervisors: setting clear expectations, employee training and development, and providing performance feedback.
In Employee Development and Training you will learn best practices to plan and conduct training that engages employees, supports retention, and helps ensure great quality work. You will also learn how to create a culture of continuous learning and performance improvement through employee development, coaching, and career planning. This is a 6-week online course, taught in English.
Topics include:
- Planning effective training programs
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Course begins: Wednesday, November 12 Live Zoom discussions: Tuesdays, 3:00 PM - 4:00 PM ET beginning November 18 through December 23.
Registration closes November 17 at 5 PM ET.