The Wilmington morning star., 1940-05-06
BLUEBERRY OFFERS.
new INCOME FIELD
New Crop In Eastern N. C.
Yields $3.50 In Gross In
come Per Acre

There is a new crop on the bay
lands of Eastern North Carolina
that Yields $3.50 and upward in gross
increase per acre. The crop is blue
berries.
Now don't get SO excited that you
rart to rush right out and buy
niants. Read a little further and see
the explanation that Prof. N. Y.
Gardner, head of the State college
denartment of horticulture, makes
nm the trials, tribulations, expense,
and downright gamble involved in
growing blueberries for the market.
Also. take particular note that the
word gross proceeds the word "in-
rome'' in the first paragraph.
The cultivated, or domesticated
burberry is comparatively a new
crop in North Carolina" Prof. Gard
ner explains. "Of the 10 or IL va
rieties being grown commercially, all
except one or two are the result of
nlaut breeding work in recent years.
The late DR.. +. V. Coville of the
L. S. department of agriculture was
RESPONSIBLE for most Of the new
varieties, and it is interesting to
note that his son, Frederick Coville,
is one of the North Carolina grow
ers with about Is + in cultivation
near Atkinson in Fender county.
Continuing, the horticulturist said
that the North Carolina agricultural
experiment station is cooperating
with Frederick Coville, and with H.
c. HUNTINGTON of near Atkinson, and
d. c. Crabbe Of Magnolia in Duplin
county to breed other new varieties
of blueberries, and to improve the
cultivation and management of the
existing varieties. E. B. Morrow,
associate horticulturist of State col
leee. is supervising tn ework in this
state, working closely with DR..
George barrow, senior pomologist of
the U. S. department of agriculture.
II. G. Huntington is the largest
BURBERRY grower in North Carolina,
with 100 acres in bearing and 40
more acres recently set. Mr.. Hunt
ineton. like most of the other large
growers. is from New Jersey. He
has Il acres in BURBERRY cultiva-
ton in that state, but transferred
his major operations to North Caro-
lima when competition increased and
the cost of production rose in New
Jersey. For the past three or four
years the Huntington farm has Ship
ped 50 per cent of the blueberries
out of North Carolina. Now there
are 50 or more smaller growers in
this state, but most of their bushes
lave not reached the fruiting stage
of ACKNOWLEDGEMENT blue
berry bushes from the nursery will
not bear fruit for about three years.
Mr.. Huntington made his first
paintings of three acres in Fender
county 10 years ago. They were of
the Rubel variety. Then as the late
Dr.. Coville developed the Cabot, RAN
cocas, Pioneer and Concord varie-
ties. lie added these.
The bushes are set at the rate of
1861 to the acre, and last year Mr..
huntington harvested an average OF
a pint of berries from each bush,
he hopes that the yield this year
will be nearer a quart to the bush.
Last ear the ~blueoerries brought an
avaro 90 IF 90 oo,,Ie , ~ir+ LITTLE
mathematics will show that the gross
return per acre was $353.S6 per acre
OR S55,3S6 for the 100 acres.
But remember" Prof. Gardner
emphasized, this is gross income. In
addition to having TO wait four tc
six years for the bushes to reach
1ull production, here are some of the
items of expense connected with the
enterprise: Nh. Huntington employs
% men for five or six months each
Year to prune the plants. Then il
requires 400 pickers to harvest the
crop from about May 20 through
July Is. The Cabot variety ripens
1lrst, then the R~ancocas, then the
Pioneer and Concord together, and
finally the Rubel.
That isn't all the expense. Mr.
huntington applied 600 pounds of a
Mighty concentrated and expensive
fertilizer per acre about three weeks
aso' and another $50 pounds of fer
'llzer per acre must be applied ir
me TALL. Still another costly item
Is spray. Mr.. Huntington is applying
Two B%ordeaux sprays before picking
'lle' and will make three more ap
plcatlons of Bordeaux after the cror
u harvested. Special tractors an6
spray machines had to be built to ne
sotlate the narrow spaces between
'Ne rows without injuring the bulbs
Here's something else that will
sG@ie off a person without sufficien'
financial resources to gamble" Prof
GARNER continued. TN 1887 Mr.
.uhllnston lost about 60 per cen
u MS crop because of the drought
LIE installed an elaborate and expen
h'e portable irrigation system, capa
VI l~frl9ating 10 acres at a time
"lu lVO acres in an hour. Last veal
aldn't need the irrigation system
Yu' ne did have his yields reduced ap
pleclably by cold weather. Thi.
seer the cold didn't hurt his crop
nce IT occurred at a different time
:" lrult development.
rlhally,' the horticulturist said
Mr.. Huntington's bushes were dam
So" considerably last year by an in.
not previously identified in the
nn''eo States. We called it a blue.
cy illle. He had to control that
W IT can be seen that all is mi