Published 2018-03-15
Abstract
Producers of commercial southern highbush blueberries strive to harvest the majority of their crop in the first few weeks of the Florida harvest window, which generally runs from mid-March to the first week of May, to capitalize on the typically higher monetary return on early harvested fruit. A relatively high yielding cultivar named ‘Emerald’ is planted on a majority of farms in central Florida. Due to the extended harvest period for ‘Emerald’, significant quantities of fruit are not ready for harvest at a time when prices are at the optimum. A study was initiated in December 2013 to determine if there is any effect on earliness and/or crop value associated with no thinning and thinning either tight floral buds, bloom or developing fruitlets. A hand held Cinch® peach bloom thinner was utilized to thin approximately 30% of tight buds, bloom or developing fruitlets. Harvest will be conducted weekly to determine yield and compared with weekly reported USDA prices for economic comparison.