United States: Cranberry harvest of Down East delayed

United States: Down East Cranberry Harvest Delayed

14/08/2015

The beginning of the blueberry harvest has been delayed in the Cherryfield area, which could mean a lower harvest than the campaign of the previous year.

The harvest, originally scheduled to begin last Monday, would not be made until the end of that week or possibly this one, said David Yarborough, blueberry specialist at the University of Maine Extension Department.

«There are still white berries«he said this Monday. «So starting the harvest now would mean having much lower quality, and green fruit«.

«So far, between the 01 in January and the 31 in July, we had the coldest weather in history, so it could be the cause of the delay in the growth of blueberries«Yarborough pointed out.

Blueberries are ready for harvest in the southern area of Maine, but in Down East, yields so far are «irregular«he added. «Each of the fields differs from the other«.

Yarborough reported that he visited six fields before yesterday. «Three showed a good performance, while the others were poor. There were simply no berries", He said.

Homero Woodward, vice president of operations at the Milbridge Wyman headquarters in Maine, said the harvest is expected to start on Wednesday, and that this delay would not have an effect on the company's overall season.

At their annual 15 meeting in July, blueberry growers across the state projected a crop above the average of last year's.

«Assuming that the harvest takes place near the end of August, as it usually is, the deferred start will mean a performance lower than the annual average of 90 million pounds"Yarborough said. But he added that it was too early to predict exactly what effect the delay might have on overall performance.

Last year's production was one of the largest in the area's arandanera history. Yarborough also added that the blueberry harvest in Maine contributes around USD $ 90 million to the state's economy each year.

Source: SimFruit