“The very fact that we’re growing blueberries at all is because of UF/IFAS. If we didn’t have those varieties, we wouldn’t be growing blueberries commercially. The breeding program is really what turned blueberries into an important crop for Florida.”
There are many steps to consider when establishing a new southern highbush blueberry field. The purpose of this publication is to assist Florida blueberry growers with critical management practices for establishing a new field. We assume that any irrigation wells, overhead irrigation, and farm equipment are already in place. Therefore, establishing those items is not addressed here.
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Spotted wing drosophila (SWD), Drosophila suzukii, is an invasive pest introduced to Florida in 2009. It is common in all of Florida’s fruit-producing counties, and is active year-round, with peak activity from April to May when the blueberry harvest is highest. Although this is a significant pest of blueberries in Florida, it can be successfully managed with good cultural practices, proper monitoring, and appropriate pesticide applications.
Prior to the events of early February, Florida was positioned for a milestone year. Across the state, both evergreen and deciduous crops showed exceptional promise. We were prepared to enter a “hungry” market with high-quality berries and strong volume—momentum that was abruptly challenged by a historic “super-cooling” freeze.
This winter’s freeze event of January 31 – February 2, 2026 caused significant damage across the state to open blooms, developing fruit, and plants, creating opportunities for disease to develop. The applicable diseases include botrytis, anthracnose fruit rot, Phytophthora root rot, and Botryosphaeria stem blight. The first three will be briefly addressed, while the focus will primarily be on stem blight. The below article was initially published days after the freeze events and has been updated with seasonal progress to date.
Farmers are no strangers to navigating uncontrollable and often unpredictable headwinds like inclement weather, labor challenges, and escalating costs, to name a few. While these pressures ripple through the entire blueberry supply chain, it’s the grower who absorbs the full impact. As the industry’s national trade association, the North American Blueberry Council (NABC) aims to serve as both a windbreak against those forces and a trusted partner to our growers when the winds are strongest.
It is part of our routine. We collect leaves in the middle of the summer and submit them to a laboratory (like the UF/IFAS Analytical Services Laboratory) to find out how our plants are doing. We get a result back: 1.2% N, 1.5% N, 2.0% N. But what does this mean? Like a doctor taking a patient’s temperature, test results are only meaningful when compared to a reference standard. 104°F is a fever. 97°F is normal. Knowing where the bar is set makes all the difference in how we interpret test results.
The table below lists suggested blueberry management items for April through June. Suggested management items for the entire calendar year are available in an EDIS publication, Calendar for Southern Highbush Blueberry Management in Florida (https://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/publication/HS1363). Specific disease, insect, and weed controls are listed in the 2024 Florida Blueberry IPM Guide (https://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/publication/HS380), as well as in subject-specific publications referenced below. Also, a list of all UF EDIS blueberry publications can be found at www.blueberrybreeding.com/blog, along with a summary description and link to each.
The freeze event beginning January 31, 2026, was one of the most significant events in many years. Extremely low temperatures and dew points, along with high sustained winds, made freeze protection very difficult in many areas of the state, resulting in significant bloom and fruit damage.
TUESDAY FEB. 10TH 9A-11A
