After a rain, wait until the bushes have dried off before harvesting. Handling fruit when it is wet will lead to a loss of the surface wax and an increase in decay. Various containers have been used in picking blueberries. The best method involves pickers placing fruit directly into the 1-pint market box, which is set in a shallow metal can worn on a belt around the picker's neck in the field. This reduces the amount of handling the berries will be exposed to.
Field packing, however, requires very strict worker supervision.
If any leaves or stems are placed in the boxes, the fruit will have to be re-sorted prior to capping with cellophane squares. Inspection and grading of the fruit then takes place in a packing shed where the fruit can be passed through an air separation unit to remove twigs and leaves, and then passed over a slowly moving coveyor so that overmature, under-ripe, or decayed fruit can be removed. This fact sheet is adapted from Oregon State University Extension Publication PNW215, Highbush Blueberry Production .