{{short description|Perennial plant with blue berries}} {{About|the North American blueberry|the Eurasian blueberry|Bilberry|other uses}} {{Use mdy dates|date=August 2021}} {{Use American English|date=July 2025}} {{automatic taxobox | image = Blueberries.jpg | image_caption = ''Vaccinium caesariense'' | taxon = Vaccinium sect. Cyanococcus | authority = Rydb. | subdivision_ranks = Species | subdivision = See text }} thumb|right|Blueberries showing various stages of maturation. IG = Immature Green, GP = Green Pink, BP = Blue Pink, and R = Ripe.

'''Blueberries''' are a widely distributed and widespread group of perennial flowering plants with blue or purple berries. They are classified in the section '''''Cyanococcus''''' within the genus ''Vaccinium''.<ref name="rowland">{{Cite book |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=AxbUJntXepEC&pg=PA222 |chapter=''Vaccinium'' spp. (8.1: Blueberry) |title=Biotechnology of Fruit and Nut Crops |volume=29 |series=Biotechnology in Agriculture |editor-first=Richard E. |editor-last=Litz |first1=Lisa J. |last1=Rowland |first2=Freddi A. |last2=Hammerschlag |publisher=CABI |year=2005 |isbn=0-85199-066-5 |access-date=September 21, 2020 |archive-date=December 12, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201212091802/https://books.google.com/books?id=AxbUJntXepEC&pg=PA222 |url-status=live}}</ref> Commercial blueberries—both wild (lowbush) and cultivated (highbush)—are all native to North America. The highbush varieties were introduced into Europe during the 1930s.<ref name=nauman1993/>

Blueberries are usually prostrate shrubs that can vary in size from {{convert|10|cm|in|0|abbr=off|sp=us}} to {{convert|4|m|ft|0|abbr=off|sp=us}} in height. In the commercial production of blueberries, the species with small, pea-size berries growing on low-level bushes are known as "lowbush blueberries" (synonymous with "wild"), while the species with larger berries growing on taller, cultivated bushes are known as "highbush blueberries". In 2024, Canada was the leading producer of lowbush blueberries, while the United States produced 29% of the world's supply of highbush blueberries.

==Description== thumb|Whole blueberry and in cross-section Many species of blueberries grow wild in North America, including ''Vaccinium myrtilloides'', ''V.&nbsp;angustifolium'' and ''V.&nbsp;corymbosum'', which grow on forest floors or near swamps.<ref name="nb">{{Cite web |title=Wild Blueberry Fact Sheet A.2.0. Growth and Development of the Wild Blueberry |url=https://www2.gnb.ca/content/dam/gnb/Departments/10/pdf/Agriculture/WildBlueberries-BleuetsSauvages/a20e.pdf |access-date=February 5, 2020 |publisher=Agriculture, Aquaculture and Fisheries, Province of New Brunswick, Canada |archive-date=July 17, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170717120713/http://www2.gnb.ca/content/dam/gnb/Departments/10/pdf/Agriculture/WildBlueberries-BleuetsSauvages/a20e.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref>

Wild blueberries reproduce by cross pollination, with each seed producing a plant with a different genetic composition, causing within the same species differences in growth, productivity, color, leaf characteristics, disease resistance, flavor, and other fruit characteristics.<ref name=nb/> The mother plant develops underground stems called rhizomes, allowing the plant to form a network of rhizomes creating a large patch (called a ''clone'') which is genetically distinct.<ref name=nb/> Floral and leaf buds develop intermittently along the stems of the plant, with each floral bud giving rise to 5–6 flowers and the eventual fruit.<ref name=nb/> Wild blueberries prefer an acidic soil between 4.2 and 5.2 pH and only moderate amounts of moisture.<ref name=nb/> They have a hardy cold tolerance in their range in Canada and the northern United States.<ref name=nb/> Fruit productivity of lowbush blueberries varies by the degree of pollination, genetics of the clone, soil fertility, water availability, insect infestation, plant diseases, and local growing conditions.<ref name=nb/> Wild (lowbush) blueberries have an average mature weight of {{convert|0.3|g|oz|frac=128}}.<ref name=nb/>

Lowbush blueberries, sometimes called "wild blueberries", are generally not planted by farmers, but rather are managed on berry fields called "barrens".<ref name="barrens">{{cite web |title=Preservation by Celebration: Wild Blueberry Barrens of Down East Maine |url=https://livinglandscapeobserver.net/maines-blueberry-barrens/ |publisher=Living Landscape Observer |access-date=21 May 2025 |date=2021}}</ref> Cultivated highbush blueberries prefer sandy or loam soils, having shallow root systems that benefit from mulch and fertilizer.<ref name="unh">{{Cite web |last=Becky Sideman |date=August 1, 2016 |title=Growing fruit: Highbush blueberries |url=https://extension.unh.edu/resources/files/Resource000578_Rep600.pdf |access-date=February 5, 2020 |publisher=University of New Hampshire Cooperative Extension |archive-date=September 25, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200925194018/https://extension.unh.edu/resources/files/resource000578_rep600.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref> The leaves of highbush blueberries can be either deciduous or evergreen, ovate to lanceolate, and {{convert|1|-|8|cm|in|frac=4|abbr=on}} long and {{convert|0.5|-|3.5|cm|in|frac=8|abbr=on}} broad. The flowers are bell-shaped, white, pale pink or red, sometimes tinged greenish.

The fruit is a berry {{convert|5|-|16|mm|in|frac=32|abbr=on}} in diameter with a flared crown at the end; they are pale greenish at first, then reddish-purple, and finally uniformly blue when ripe.<ref name=unh/> They are covered in a protective coating of powdery epicuticular wax, colloquially known as the "bloom".<ref name=nb/> They generally have a sweet taste when mature, with variable acidity.<ref name=nb/><ref name=unh/> Blueberry bushes typically bear fruit in the middle of the growing season: fruiting times are affected by local conditions, such as climate, altitude, and latitude, so the time of harvest in the northern hemisphere can vary from May to August.<ref name=nb/><ref name=unh/>

===Identification===

Commercially offered blueberries are usually from species that naturally occur only in eastern and north-central North America. Other sections in the genus are native to other parts of the world, including the Pacific Northwest and the southern United States,<ref>{{Cite web |last=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.--> |year=2013 |title=Plants Profile: ''Vaccinium corymbosum'' L., Highbush blueberry |url=https://plants.usda.gov/java/profile?symbol=VACO |access-date=April 30, 2013 |publisher=US Department of Agriculture, National Resources Conservation Service |archive-date=May 2, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130502024713/http://plants.usda.gov/java/profile?symbol=VACO |url-status=live }}</ref> South America, Europe and Asia. Other wild shrubs in many of these regions produce similar-looking edible berries, such as huckleberries and whortleberries (North America) and bilberries (Europe). These species are sometimes called "blueberries" and are sold as blueberry jam or other products.

The names of blueberries in languages other than English often translate as "blueberry", e.g. Scots ''blaeberry'' and Norwegian ''blåbær''. ''blaeberry'', ''blåbær'' and French ''myrtilles'' usually refer to the European native ''V.&nbsp;myrtillus'' (bilberry), while ''bleuets'' refers to the North American blueberry.{{citation needed|date=November 2025}}

==Species== {{more citations needed section|date=March 2020}}

Note: habitat and range summaries are from the ''Flora of New Brunswick'', published in 1986 by Harold R. Hinds, and ''Plants of the Pacific Northwest coast'', published in 1994 by Pojar and MacKinnon. {{div col|colwidth=40em}} *''Vaccinium angustifolium'' (lowbush blueberry):<ref name="Plunkett">{{Cite journal |last1=Plunkett |first1=Blue J. |last2=Espley |first2=Richard V. |last3=Dare |first3=Andrew P. |last4=Warren |first4=Ben A. W. |last5=Grierson |first5=Ella R. P. |last6=Cordiner |first6=Sarah |last7=Turner |first7=Janice L. |last8=Allan |first8=Andrew C. |last9=Albert |first9=Nick W. |last10=Davies |first10=Kevin M. |last11=Schwinn |first11=Kathy E. |date=September 11, 2018 |title=MYBA From Blueberry (Vaccinium Section Cyanococcus) Is a Subgroup 6 Type R2R3MYB Transcription Factor That Activates Anthocyanin Production |journal=Frontiers in Plant Science |volume=9 |page=1300 |doi=10.3389/fpls.2018.01300 |issn=1664-462X |pmc=6141686 |pmid=30254656 |doi-access=free}}</ref><ref name="Rodriguez-Saona-et-al-2019" /> acidic barrens, bogs and clearings, Manitoba to Labrador, south to Nova Scotia; and in the United States, from Maine westward to Iowa and southward to Virginia. *''Vaccinium boreale'' (northern blueberry): peaty barrens, Quebec and Labrador (rare in New Brunswick), south to New York and Massachusetts.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Vaccinium boreale Hall & Aalders |url=https://www.maine.gov/dacf/mnap/features/vacbor.htm |access-date=2025-11-06 |website=Maine Department of Agriculture, Conservation & Forestry}}</ref> *''Vaccinium caesariense'' (New Jersey blueberry) *''Vaccinium corymbosum'' (northern highbush blueberry)<ref name=Plunkett/> *''Vaccinium darrowii'' (evergreen blueberry) *''Vaccinium elliottii'' (Elliott blueberry) *''Vaccinium formosum'' (southern blueberry) *''Vaccinium fuscatum'' (black highbush blueberry; syn. ''V. atrococcum'') *''Vaccinium hirsutum'' (hairy-fruited blueberry) *''Vaccinium myrsinites'' (shiny blueberry) *''Vaccinium myrtilloides'' (sour top, velvet leaf, or Canadian blueberry) *''Vaccinium pallidum'' (dryland blueberry) *''Vaccinium simulatum'' (upland highbush blueberry) *''Vaccinium tenellum'' (southern blueberry) *''Vaccinium virgatum'' (rabbiteye blueberry; syn. ''V. ashei'')<ref name=Plunkett/> {{div col end}} Some other blue-fruited species of ''Vaccinium'': *''Vaccinium koreanum'' (Korean blueberry) *''Vaccinium myrtillus'' (bilberry or European blueberry) *''Vaccinium uliginosum'' (bog bilberry/blueberry, northern bilberry or western blueberry) <gallery widths="200px" heights="160px"> File:Wild Blueberry in autumn foliage.JPG|Wild blueberry in autumn foliage, Pilot Mountain, North Carolina, in October File:Maturing blueberry.jpg|A maturing 'Polaris' blueberry (''Vaccinium corymbosum'') File:Vaccinium fruits.JPG|A selection of blueberries, showing the typical sizes of the berries. The scale is marked in centimeters. </gallery>

{{anchor|Highbush|Lowbush}} The lowbush varieties are ''V.&nbsp;angustifolium'', ''V.&nbsp;boreale'', ''V.&nbsp;mytilloides'', ''V.&nbsp;pallidum'', and ''V.&nbsp;angustifolium'' × ''V.&nbsp;corymbosum''. They are still grown similarly to pre-Columbian semi-wild cultivation, i.e. slash and burn. The highbush varieties are darrowii and corymbosum. Rabbiteye (''V.&nbsp;ashei''/''V.&nbsp;virgatum'') differ from both high- and lowbush.<ref name="Rodriguez-Saona-et-al-2019"/>

==Distribution== thumb|Flowers on a cultivated blueberry bush thumb|Fresh blueberries

''Vaccinium'' has a mostly circumpolar distribution, with species mainly present in North America, Europe, and Asia.<ref name=rowland/> Many commercially available species with English common names including "blueberry" are from North America,<ref name="Rodriguez-Saona-et-al-2019">{{cite journal | last1=Rodriguez-Saona | first1=Cesar | last2=Vincent | first2=Charles | last3=Isaacs | first3=Rufus | title=Blueberry IPM: Past Successes and Future Challenges | journal=Annual Review of Entomology | publisher=Annual Reviews | volume=64 | issue=1 | date=January 7, 2019 | issn=0066-4170 | doi=10.1146/annurev-ento-011118-112147 | pages=95–114| pmid=30629894 | s2cid=58573080 | doi-access=free }}</ref> particularly Atlantic Canada and the northeastern United States for wild (lowbush) blueberries, and several US states and British Columbia for cultivated (highbush) blueberries.<ref name="aafc">{{Cite web |date=August 9, 2018 |title=Canadian blueberries |url=http://www5.agr.gc.ca/eng/food-products/explore-canadian-food-products/canadian-blueberries/?id=1426167712421 |access-date=February 5, 2020 |publisher=Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, Government of Canada |archive-date=February 20, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200220084817/http://www.agr.gc.ca/eng/food-products/explore-canadian-food-products/canadian-blueberries/?id=1426167712421 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="hbc">{{Cite news |date=2020 |title=Blueberries – Celebrating 100 Years |newspaper=Blueberry.org |url=https://www.blueberrycouncil.org/about-blueberries/history-of-blueberries/ |access-date=February 5, 2020 |publisher=US Highbush Blueberry Council |archive-date=April 9, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200409194817/https://www.blueberrycouncil.org/about-blueberries/history-of-blueberries/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

North American native species of blueberries are grown commercially in the Southern Hemisphere in Australia, New Zealand and South American nations. ''Vaccinium meridionale'' (the Andean blueberry) is wild-harvested and commonly available locally.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Foster|first=Steven|date=2012|title=The Adulteration of Commercial Bilberry Extracts|url=https://d1wqtxts1xzle7.cloudfront.net/41820469/Bilberry-HerbalGram-96-2012-with-cover-page.pdf?Expires=1621161502&Signature=gWQA1y~Iat04jLHxNwnhk~ExQ7q8GuwQ8LWiz7WGZOiXMwo3xM0EIQF8jW34ECWQmJonGzjh-MYjUT60kaBPBnHoHIFeRWXh5E-aXI~WRHJOMGkbvAJZKC~y~rDrz3qUIl7QuqufdK1pUXuMXVdDTVvDXyeE1emxenVXId8Ro4zGfkWLIbaLn63MC7qrCsbiKf4gaiNECKu36G9Pq35zHWUB1m0Hs1seS8NJN3QwhDU7aLjONx3qVJm-CaeyIfUemfXk9J8YqWo1a0YfmC455E7yfzY1cisx7dSQq1Zj9EwvTxoyKhR7CPII7SxlkHPSGWnHUtFZKRF2gSpYGOrzPQ__&Key-Pair-Id=APKAJLOHF5GGSLRBV4ZA|journal=Academia|via=Herbalgram|access-date=May 16, 2021|archive-date=May 16, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210516094201/https://d1wqtxts1xzle7.cloudfront.net/41820469/Bilberry-HerbalGram-96-2012-with-cover-page.pdf?Expires=1621161502&Signature=gWQA1y~Iat04jLHxNwnhk~ExQ7q8GuwQ8LWiz7WGZOiXMwo3xM0EIQF8jW34ECWQmJonGzjh-MYjUT60kaBPBnHoHIFeRWXh5E-aXI~WRHJOMGkbvAJZKC~y~rDrz3qUIl7QuqufdK1pUXuMXVdDTVvDXyeE1emxenVXId8Ro4zGfkWLIbaLn63MC7qrCsbiKf4gaiNECKu36G9Pq35zHWUB1m0Hs1seS8NJN3QwhDU7aLjONx3qVJm-CaeyIfUemfXk9J8YqWo1a0YfmC455E7yfzY1cisx7dSQq1Zj9EwvTxoyKhR7CPII7SxlkHPSGWnHUtFZKRF2gSpYGOrzPQ__&Key-Pair-Id=APKAJLOHF5GGSLRBV4ZA}}</ref> Several other wild shrubs of the genus ''Vaccinium'' also produce commonly eaten blue berries, such as the predominantly European ''V.&nbsp;myrtillus'' and other bilberries, which in many languages have a name that translates to "blueberry" in English.

==Cultivation== {{main|Cultivated blueberries}} [[File:Blueberry harvester.jpg|thumb|Blueberry harvester in Michigan]] Blueberries may be cultivated, or they may be picked from semiwild or wild bushes. In North America, the most common cultivated species is ''V. corymbosum'', the northern highbush blueberry. Hybrids of this with other ''Vaccinium'' species adapted to southern U.S. climates are known collectively as southern highbush blueberries.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Growing Highbush Blueberries |url=https://extension.unh.edu/resources/files/Resource000578_Rep600.pdf |access-date=September 22, 2013 |publisher=University of New Hampshire-Extension |archive-date=September 27, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130927074859/https://extension.unh.edu/resources/files/Resource000578_Rep600.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref> Highbush blueberries were first cultivated in New Jersey around the beginning of the 20th century.<ref name=hbc/><ref name="Rodriguez-Saona-et-al-2019" />

So-called "wild" (lowbush) blueberries, smaller than cultivated highbush ones, have intense color. ''V.&nbsp;angustifolium'' (lowbush blueberry) is found from the Atlantic provinces westward to Quebec and southward to Michigan and West Virginia. In some areas, it produces natural "blueberry barrens", where it is the dominant species covering large areas. Several First Nations communities in Ontario are involved in harvesting wild blueberries.

"Wild" has been adopted as a marketing term for harvests of managed native stands of lowbush blueberries. The bushes are not planted or selectively bred, but they are pruned or burned over every two years, and pests are "managed".<ref>{{Cite web |title=Wild Blueberry Network Information Centre |url=https://www.dal.ca/sites/wild-blueberry.html |website=Wild Blueberry Network Information Centre |access-date=October 15, 2018 |archive-date=October 15, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181015114521/https://www.dal.ca/sites/wild-blueberry.html |url-status=live }}</ref>

Numerous highbush cultivars of blueberries are available, with diversity among them, each having individual qualities. A blueberry breeding program has been established by the USDA-ARS breeding program at Beltsville, Maryland, and Chatsworth, New Jersey. This program began when Frederick Vernon Coville of the USDA-ARS collaborated with Elizabeth Coleman White of New Jersey.<ref>{{Cite web |date=June 2011 |title=Blueberry Growing Comes to the National Agricultural Library |url=https://agresearchmag.ars.usda.gov/2011/may/nal |access-date=June 17, 2011 |publisher=US Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Magazine, Vol. 59, No. 5 |archive-date=July 9, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110709184007/http://www.ars.usda.gov/is/AR/2011/may11/nal0511.htm |url-status=live }}</ref> In the early part of the 20th century, White offered pineland residents cash for wild blueberry plants with unusually large fruit.<ref name=whitesboghistory>{{Cite web |date=2014 |title=The History of ''Whitesbog Village'' |url=http://www.whitesbog.org/whitesboghistory/history1.htm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080515060850/http://www.whitesbog.org/whitesboghistory/history1.htm |archive-date=May 15, 2008 |access-date=October 11, 2011 |publisher=Whitesbog.org}}</ref> After 1910 Coville began to work on blueberry, and was the first to discover the importance of soil acidity (blueberries need highly acidic soil), that blueberries do not self-pollinate, and the effects of cold on blueberries and other plants.<ref name="mirsky">{{Cite web |last=Mirsky |first=Steve |title=Early 20th Century Botanist Gave Us Domesticated Blueberries |url=https://www.scientificamerican.com/podcast/episode.cfm?id=early-20th-century-botanist-gave-us-11-06-17 |access-date=September 21, 2013 |publisher=Scientific American |archive-date=September 27, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130927073915/https://www.scientificamerican.com/podcast/episode.cfm?id=early-20th-century-botanist-gave-us-11-06-17 |url-status=live }}</ref> In 1911, he began a program of research in conjunction with White, daughter of the owner of the extensive cranberry bogs at Whitesbog in the New Jersey Pine Barrens. His work doubled the size of some strains' fruit, and by 1916, he had succeeded in cultivating blueberries, making them a valuable crop in the Northeastern United States.<ref name=whitesboghistory/><ref name="JN62916">{{Cite news |last=Jim Minick |date=June 29, 2016 |title=The Delicious Origins of The Domesticated Blueberry |work=JSTOR News |url=http://daily.jstor.org/delicious-origins-of-domesticated-blueberry/?cid=eml_j_jstordaily_dailylist_06302016 |access-date=June 30, 2016 |archive-date=February 8, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180208004416/https://daily.jstor.org/delicious-origins-of-domesticated-blueberry/?cid=eml_j_jstordaily_dailylist_06302016 |url-status=live }}</ref> For this work he received the George Roberts White Medal of Honor from the Massachusetts Horticultural Society.

The rabbiteye blueberry (''Vaccinium virgatum'' syn. ''V. ashei'') is a southern type of blueberry produced from the Carolinas to the Gulf Coast states. Production of rabbiteye blueberries was a focus in Texas in the early 21st century.<ref>{{Cite web |last1=Monte Nesbitt |last2=Jim Kamas |last3=Larry Stein |date=2013 |title=Blueberries |url=https://aggie-horticulture.tamu.edu/fruit-nut/files/2015/04/blueberries_2015.pdf |access-date=April 27, 2019 |publisher=Texas A&M University, AgriLife Extension Service |archive-date=September 5, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190905012008/https://aggie-horticulture.tamu.edu/fruit-nut/files/2015/04/blueberries_2015.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref> Other important species in North America include ''V. pallidum'', the hillside or dryland blueberry. It is native to the eastern U.S., and common in the Appalachians and the Piedmont of the Southeast. Sparkleberry, ''V. arboreum'', is a common wild species on sandy soils in the Southeast.

Successful blueberry cultivation requires attention to soil pH (acidity) measurements in the acidic range.<ref name="msu">{{Cite web |last=Longstroth M |date=2014 |title=Lowering the soil pH with sulfur |url=http://blueberries.msu.edu/uploads/files/Lowering_Soil_pH_with_Sulfur.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151116230847/http://blueberries.msu.edu/uploads/files/Lowering_Soil_pH_with_Sulfur.pdf |archive-date=November 16, 2015 |access-date=August 24, 2015 |publisher=Michigan State University}}</ref><ref name="purdue">{{Cite web |last=Hayden RA |date=2001 |title=Fertilizing blueberries |url=https://www.hort.purdue.edu/ext/HO-65.pdf |access-date=September 5, 2015 |publisher=Purdue University, Department of Horticulture |archive-date=October 11, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151011233131/https://hort.purdue.edu/ext/HO-65.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=2013 |title=Cornell fruit: berry diagnostic tool |url=https://www.fruit.cornell.edu/berrytool/blueberry/leaves/BBleafbrowning.htm |access-date=September 5, 2015 |publisher=Cornell University, Department of Horticulture |archive-date=September 12, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150912104518/http://www.fruit.cornell.edu/berrytool/blueberry/leaves/BBleafbrowning.htm |url-status=live }}</ref>

Blueberry bushes often require supplemental fertilization,<ref name=purdue/> but over-fertilization with nitrogen can damage plant health, as evidenced by nitrogen burn visible on the leaves.<ref name=msu/><ref name=purdue/>

===Growing regions=== thumb|Worldwide highbush blueberry growing areas (data from 2008)

Significant production of highbush blueberries occurs in British Columbia, Maryland, Western Oregon, Michigan, New Jersey, North Carolina, and Washington. The production of southern highbush varieties occurs in California, as varieties originating from University of Florida, Connecticut, New Hampshire, North Carolina State University and Maine have been introduced.

Peru, Spain, and Mexico also have significant production, as of 2023.<ref>{{Cite web |date=April 25, 2017 |title=Where Are Blueberries Grown? |url=https://www.worldatlas.com/articles/the-top-blueberry-growers-in-the-world.html |access-date=April 27, 2019 |publisher=World Atlas |archive-date=April 27, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190427142253/https://www.worldatlas.com/articles/the-top-blueberry-growers-in-the-world.html |url-status=live }}</ref>

====United States==== In 2018, Oregon produced the most cultivated blueberries, recording {{convert|131|e6lb|e6kg|order=flip|abbr=off}}, an amount slightly exceeding the production by Washington.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Mitch Lies |date=December 31, 2018 |title=Record year makes Oregon top blueberry producer |work=Capital Press |location=Salem, OR |url=https://www.capitalpress.com/state/oregon/record-year-makes-oregon-top-blueberry-producer/article_a0c4132a-0d2e-11e9-bc90-f798d8cfae21.html |access-date=April 27, 2019 |archive-date=April 27, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190427140503/https://www.capitalpress.com/state/oregon/record-year-makes-oregon-top-blueberry-producer/article_a0c4132a-0d2e-11e9-bc90-f798d8cfae21.html |url-status=live }}</ref> In descending order of production volume for 2017, other major producers were Georgia, Michigan, New Jersey, California, and North Carolina.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2019 |title=Top 10 Blueberry Producing States In America |url=https://www.worldatlas.com/articles/the-top-blueberry-states-in-america.html |access-date=April 27, 2019 |publisher=World Atlas |archive-date=April 27, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190427140459/https://www.worldatlas.com/articles/the-top-blueberry-states-in-america.html |url-status=live }}</ref>

Hammonton, New Jersey, claims to be the "Blueberry Capital of the World",<ref>{{Cite web |date=September 11, 2013 |title=Home: Welcome to the Town of Hammonton |url=http://www.townofhammonton.org |access-date=November 6, 2013 |publisher=Town of Hammonton |archive-date=November 11, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131111083002/http://www.townofhammonton.org/ |url-status=live }}</ref> with over 80% of New Jersey's cultivated blueberries coming from this town.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2018 |title=The Beautiful Blueberry! |url=http://www.pineypower.com/blueberries.htm |access-date=July 10, 2018 |publisher=Pineypower.com |archive-date=July 11, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180711022002/http://www.pineypower.com/blueberries.htm |url-status=live }}</ref> Every year the town hosts a large festival, which draws thousands of people to celebrate the fruit.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2018 |title=Hammonton Chamber of Commerce |url=https://www.hammontonnj.us/ |access-date=July 10, 2018 |publisher=Hammontonnj.us |archive-date=December 12, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201212091803/https://www.hammontonnj.us/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

Maine is known for its wild blueberries,<ref>"[https://visitmaine.com/things-to-do/dining-nightlife/maines-famous-blue-fruit Maine's Famous Blue Fruit]", Maine Office of Tourism; accessed 2022.01.22.</ref> but the state's lowbush (wild) and highbush blueberries combined account for 10% of all blueberries grown in North America. Some {{convert|44000|ha|acre}} are farmed, but only half of this acreage is harvested each year due to variations in pruning practices.<ref>{{Cite web |last=David E. Yarborough |date=February 2015 |title=Wild Blueberry Culture in Maine |work=Cooperative Extension: Maine Wild Blueberries |url=https://extension.umaine.edu/blueberries/factsheets/production/wild-blueberry-culture-in-maine/ |access-date=April 20, 2016 |publisher=Cooperative Extension: Maine Wild Blueberries, University of Maine |archive-date=March 6, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160306220155/http://extension.umaine.edu/blueberries/factsheets/production/wild-blueberry-culture-in-maine/ |url-status=live }}</ref> The wild blueberry is the official fruit of Maine.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2007 |title=State Berry – Wild Blueberry |url=http://www.maine.gov/sos/kids/about/symbols/berry.htm |access-date=July 8, 2017 |publisher=Secretary of State for Maine, Matthew Dunlap |archive-date=September 24, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170924114947/http://www.maine.gov/sos/kids/about/symbols/berry.htm |url-status=live }}</ref>

====Canada==== [[File:Wild blueberry fields in the fall near Parrsboro (1).jpg|thumb|Wild blueberry fields in Nova Scotia, Canada]]

Canadian production of wild and cultivated blueberries in 2024 was 165,608 tonnes, the country's second-largest fruit crop (after apples).<ref name=statscan/> British Columbia was the largest Canadian producer of cultivated (highbush) blueberries, yielding 94% of the total national production in 2024.<ref name=statscan/>

With Quebec as the leading producer (47% of total) of wild (lowbush) blueberries, Atlantic Canada contributed the other half of the total Canadian production from New Brunswick (26%), Nova Scotia (17%), and Prince Edward Island (10%) in 2024.<ref name=statscan/> The town of Oxford, Nova Scotia is known as the ''Wild Blueberry Capital of Canada''.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2016 |title=Wild blueberry trivia |url=http://www.nswildblueberries.com/ |access-date=May 18, 2016 |publisher=Wild Blueberry Producers Associations of Nova Scotia |archive-date=May 24, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160524152145/http://www.nswildblueberries.com/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

Québec production of lowbush blueberries occurs especially in the regions of Saguenay-Lac-Saint-Jean (where a popular name for inhabitants of the regions is ''bleuets'', or "blueberries") and Côte-Nord, which together provide 40% of Québec's total provincial production. This wild blueberry commerce benefits from vertical integration of growing, processing, frozen storage, marketing, and transportation within relatively small regions of the province.<ref name="quebec">{{Cite web |last=Gagnon A |date=2006 |title=Wild Blueberry Production Guide in a Context of Sustainable Development: Survey of the Wild Blueberry Industry in Québec |url=http://perlebleue.ca/images/documents/amenagement/guideanglais/e001.pdf |access-date=February 4, 2015 |publisher=Ministère de l'Agriculture, des Pêcheries et de l'Alimentation du Québec |archive-date=February 4, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150204183950/http://perlebleue.ca/images/documents/amenagement/guideanglais/e001.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref> On average, 80% of Québec wild blueberries are harvested on farms ({{convert|21|e6kg|ST}}), the remaining 20% being harvested from public forests ({{convert|5|e6kg|ST}}).<ref name=quebec/> Some 95% of the wild blueberry crop in Québec is frozen for export out of the province.<ref name=quebec/>

====Europe==== Highbush blueberries were first introduced to Germany, Sweden, and the Netherlands in the 1930s, and have since been spread to numerous other countries of Europe.<ref name="nauman1993">{{Cite book |last=Naumann |first=W. D. |title=Fifth International Symposium on Vaccinium Culture |publisher=International Society for Horticultural Science |year=1993 |isbn=978-90-6605-475-2 |editor-last=K. A. Clayton-Greene |location=Wageningen, the Netherlands |pages=53–58 |chapter=Overview of the Vaccinium Industry in Western Europe |oclc=29663461 |chapter-url=http://www.actahort.org/books/346/346_6.htm |access-date=August 25, 2006 |archive-date=March 11, 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070311054006/http://www.actahort.org/books/346/346_6.htm |url-status=live }}</ref> ''V. corymbosum'' only began to be cultivated in Romania in a few years leading up to 2018 and rapidly increased in production and sales in that time (as with berries in general). {{As of|2018}} it remains relatively unmolested by pests and diseases (see Diseases below).<ref name="Slav-et-al-2018">{{cite journal | title=Researches on the presence and aggressivity of the blueberry root rot (''Phytophthora cinnamomi'') in a Dâmbovița county plantation | last1=Slav | first1=M. | last2=Hoza | first2=D. | last3=Asănică | first3=A. | journal=Journal of Horticulture, Forestry and Biotechnology | date=2018 | volume=22 | issue=4 | pages=7–12 }} ref.15</ref>

====Southern Hemisphere==== [[File:Agraz..jpg|thumb|upright|''Vaccinium meridionale'', a wild species of blueberry found in the Andes<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.theplantlist.org/tpl1.1/record/kew-2457627|title=Vaccinium meridionale Sw.|website=The Plant List}}</ref>]]

In the Southern Hemisphere, Brazil, Chile, Argentina, Peru, Uruguay, New Zealand, Australia, South Africa,<ref name="where">{{cite news |title=Where blueberries grow |newspaper=Blueberry.org |url=https://www.blueberrycouncil.org/growing-blueberries/where-blueberries-grow/ |publisher=U.S. Highbush Blueberry Council |access-date=July 27, 2020 |date=2019 |archive-date=July 28, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200728061827/https://www.blueberrycouncil.org/growing-blueberries/where-blueberries-grow/ |url-status=live }}</ref> and Zimbabwe grow blueberries commercially.<ref>{{Cite web|date=July 3, 2020|title=Harvesting commences at one of Zimbabwe's bigger blueberry projects|url=https://www.thezimbabwean.co/2020/07/harvesting-commences-at-one-of-zimbabwes-bigger-blueberry-projects/|access-date=November 20, 2020|website=The Zimbabwean|language=en-US|archive-date=August 12, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200812172718/https://www.thezimbabwean.co/2020/07/harvesting-commences-at-one-of-zimbabwes-bigger-blueberry-projects/|url-status=live}}</ref>

In Brazil, blueberries are produced in the states of Rio Grande do Sul, Santa Catarina, Paraná, São Paulo and Minas Gerais.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Cultivar|first=Grupo|title=Propagação eficiente de mirtilo|url=http://www.grupocultivar.com.br/artigos/propagacao-eficiente|access-date=March 8, 2021|website=Grupo Cultivar|date=September 13, 2016 |language=pt-br}}</ref>

Blueberries were first introduced to Australia in the 1950s, but the effort was unsuccessful. In the early 1970s, the Victorian Department of Agriculture imported seed from the U.S., and a selection trial was started. This work was continued into the mid-1970s when the Australian Blueberry Growers' Association was formed.<ref name="australianblueberries.com.au">{{Cite web |title=Australian Blueberry Growers' Association |url=http://www.australianblueberries.com.au |access-date=November 6, 2013 |publisher=Australianblueberries.com.au |archive-date=September 6, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130906234221/http://www.australianblueberries.com.au/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

In the 21st century, the industry grew in Argentina: "Argentine blueberry production has increased over the last three years with planted area up to 400 percent," according to a 2005 report by the U.S. Department of Agriculture.<ref>[https://apps.fas.usda.gov/gainfiles/200501/146118470.doc U.S. Department of Agriculture GAIN Report] , Retrieved June 30, 2011</ref> "Argentine blueberry production has thrived in four different regions: the province of Entre Rios in northeastern Argentina, the province of Tucuman, the province of Buenos Aires and the southern Patagonian valleys", according to the report.<ref name="gain2005">{{Cite web |last=Pirovano |first=Francisco |date=January 12, 2005 |title=Argentina Blueberries Voluntary 2005 |url=https://apps.fas.usda.gov/gainfiles/200501/146118470.doc |access-date=June 22, 2009 |website=GAIN Report |publisher=Foreign Agricultural Service |archive-date=October 16, 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081016204951/http://www.fas.usda.gov/gainfiles/200501/146118470.doc |url-status=live }}</ref> In the Bureau of International Labor Affairs report of 2014 on child labor and forced labor, blueberries were listed among the goods produced in such working conditions in Argentina.<ref>{{Cite web |title=List of Goods Produced by Child Labor or Forced Labor |url=http://www.dol.gov/ilab/reports/child-labor/list-of-goods/ |website=dol.gov |access-date=January 9, 2015 |archive-date=June 10, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150610003351/http://www.dol.gov/ilab/reports/child-labor/list-of-goods/ |url-status=dead }}</ref>

{{anchor|Pests|Diseases}}

===Pests and diseases=== ====Diseases==== {{main|List of Vaccinium diseases}} {{As of|2018}} ''V. corymbosum'' remains relatively unmolested by pests and diseases in Romania, with ''Phytophthora cinnamomi'', ''Monilinia vaccinii-corymbosi'', ''Botryosphaeria corticis'', ''Godronia cassandrae'', ''Phomopsis'' sp., ''Botrytis cinerea'', ''Naohidemyces vaccinii'', ''Microsphaera penicillata'' var. ''vaccinii'', and various viruses being the most common.<ref name="Slav-et-al-2018" />

====Pest management==== =====Pesticides===== DDT began to be used in blueberry soon after its discovery in 1939, and a few years later in the mid-1940s research began into its use in North America.<ref name="Rodriguez-Saona-et-al-2019" />

Because "wild" is a marketing term generally used for all low-bush blueberries, it does not indicate that such blueberries are free from pesticides.<ref>{{Cite web |date=August 16, 2005 |title=Catching the Toxic Drift: How Pesticides Used in the Blueberry Industry Threaten Our Communities, Our Water and the Environment |url=http://www.environmentmaine.org/reports/environmental-health/reduce-pesticide-exposure-reports/catching-the-toxic-drift-how-pesticides-used-in-the-blueberry-industry-threaten-our-communities-our-water-and-the-environment |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110301051357/http://www.environmentmaine.org/reports/environmental-health/reduce-pesticide-exposure-reports/catching-the-toxic-drift-how-pesticides-used-in-the-blueberry-industry-threaten-our-communities-our-water-and-the-environment |access-date=October 11, 2011 |archive-date=March 1, 2011 |publisher=Environment Maine}}</ref>

Insecticide modes of action must be varied to avoid encouraging resistance in the invasive pest ''Drosophila suzukii''.<ref name="Rodriguez-Saona-et-al-2019" />

Some insecticides can be counterproductive, harming natural enemies of pests as well. For example, treatment for ''Illinoia pepperi'' can reduce populations of its predators. Kaolin clay for ''Rhagoletis mendax'' also reduced effectiveness of ''Diachasma alloeum'', its parasitoid. The pest predator ''Harpalus erraticus'' maintains greater abundance with selective insecticides rather than broad-spectrum MoAs.<ref name="Rodriguez-Saona-et-al-2019" />

{{anchor|IPM}}

=====Integrated pest management===== Blueberries are naturally relatively unmolested by arthropod pests. Nonetheless, there are 24 insect taxa known to be pests in North America, the worst in New Jersey, Michigan, Maine, and Eastern Canada being ''Rhagoletis mendax''. Secondary but still important are ''Acrobasis vaccinii'', ''Grapholita packardi'', and ''Conotrachelus nenuphar''. These four are the most common targets for the development of IPM practices. {{as of|2019|lc=yes}}, IPM research has also taken an interest in ''Drosophila suzukii'' and arthropods like aphids (that vector diseases such as scorch virus and shoestring virus) and cicadellids (vectoring the phytoplasma that causes blueberry stunt). Managing pests down to the cosmetic level is necessary for this fruit because they are a premium product.<ref name="Rodriguez-Saona-et-al-2019" />

Changes in locale and environment – to new geographies, and into greenhouses – have required new pest management regimes, including innovative IPM. Conversely, importing foreign potential enemies into North America may yield good results: ''Operophtera brumata'' is a pest of blueberries and birches which is successfully parasitized by ''Cyzenis albicans'' despite the lack of historical, natural contact between the two. The same results were obtained with ''Scirtothrips citri'' and ''Beauveria bassiana''. Results are available for ''Choristoneura rosaceana'' and overwhelming numbers of ''Trichogramma minutum'', and ''Cyclocephala longula'' overwhelmed by ''Steinernema scarabaei''. This has also been attempted with flower thrips and potential predators but with inconclusive results.<ref name="Rodriguez-Saona-et-al-2019" /> {{anchor|Quarantine}}

=====International quarantine===== ''Rhagoletis mendax'' is a quarantine pest in phytosanitary regimes of some countries around the world.<ref name="Rodriguez-Saona-et-al-2019" />

=====Resistant cultivars===== Insect resistance was not a priority in breeding programs until about the year 2000 and is still not a high priority. However, it may become more common as it becomes easier, especially using marker-assisted breeding. ''V.&nbsp;ashei'' is naturally more resistant than ''V.&nbsp;corymbosum'' to ''Scaphytopius magdalensis''. ''V.&nbsp;ashei'' is less resistant than ''V.&nbsp;darrowii'' to ''Prodiplosis vaccinia''. There is variation between cultivars of ''V. ashei'' in resistance to ''Oberea myops''. There is variation in resistance among cultivars of ''V.&nbsp;corymbosum'' to ''Acrobasis vaccinii'' and ''Popillia japonica''. Wild ''V.'' spp. have greater resistance than highbush cultivars to ''I. pepperi''. There is significant variation between highbush cultivars in the abundance of various Tephritidae, thrips, and ''Homalodisca vitripennis''.<ref name="Rodriguez-Saona-et-al-2019" /> {| class="wikitable floatright" style="width:12em; text-align:center;" |+ Blueberry production<br>{{small|2024, tonnes}}<br/> |- | {{USA}} || 401,970 |- | {{PER}} || 353,600 |- | {{CAN}} || 165,608 |- | {{CHI}} || 97,219 |- | {{MEX}} || 80,534 |- | {{ESP}} || 60,950 |- | '''World''' || '''1,392,534''' |- | colspan="2" |{{small|Source: FAOSTAT<br> of the United Nations<ref name="fao">{{Cite web |title=Blueberry production in 2023; Crops/Regions/World list/Production Quantity/Year (pick lists) |url=https://www.fao.org/faostat/en/#data/QCL|date=2026 |access-date=17 January 2026 |publisher=UN Food and Agriculture Organization, Corporate Statistical Database (FAOSTAT) }}</ref>}} |}

==Production==

In 2024, world production of blueberries (lowbush and highbush combined) was 1.4&nbsp;million tonnes, led by the United States with 29% of the total, Peru with 25%, and Canada with 12% (table).

Quebec produced 43,997 tonnes of wild (lowbush) blueberries, accounting for 47% of the total Canadian production in 2024.<ref name="statscan">{{cite web |title=Statistical overview of the Canadian fruit industry, 2024 |url=https://agriculture.canada.ca/en/sector/horticulture/reports/statistical-overview-canadian-fruit-industry-2024 |publisher=Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, Government of Canada |access-date=27 July 2025 |date=16 July 2025}}</ref>

===Regulations===

Canada No. 1 blueberries are all similar in size, shape, weight, and color—the total product can be no more than ten percent off-color and three percent otherwise defective.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Government of Canada |first=Canadian Food Inspection Agency |date=March 2, 2018 |title=Grades and Requirements for Blueberries; In: Canadian Grade Compendium; Volume 2 – Fresh Fruit or Vegetables |url=http://inspection.gc.ca/about-the-cfia/acts-and-regulations/list-of-acts-and-regulations/documents-incorporated-by-reference/canadian-grade-compendium-volume-2/eng/1519996239002/1519996303947?chap=2#s6c2 |access-date=July 12, 2019 |website=inspection.gc.ca |archive-date=April 29, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190429100550/http://www.inspection.gc.ca/about-the-cfia/acts-and-regulations/list-of-acts-and-regulations/documents-incorporated-by-reference/canadian-grade-compendium-volume-2/eng/1519996239002/1519996303947?chap=2#s6c2 |url-status=live }}</ref>

==Nutrition== Blueberries are 84% water, 14% carbohydrates, 1% protein, and contain negligible fat (table). In a reference amount of {{cvt|100|g}}, blueberries supply 57 calories of food energy, and are a moderate source (11-16% of the Daily Value, DV) of vitamin K, vitamin C, and manganese, with no other micronutrients in significant content (table).

{{nutritional value | name=Blueberries, raw | image=Dish of blueberries.jpg | caption= | kJ=240 | protein=0.74 g | fat=0.33 g | carbs=14.49 g | fiber=2.4 g | sugars=9.96 g | calcium_mg=6 | copper_mg=0.057 | iron_mg=0.28 | magnesium_mg=6 | phosphorus_mg=12 | potassium_mg=77 | sodium_mg=1 | zinc_mg=0.165 | manganese_mg=0.336 | vitC_mg=9.7 | thiamin_mg=0.037 | riboflavin_mg=0.041 | niacin_mg=0.418 | pantothenic_mg=0.124 | vitB6_mg=0.052 | folate_ug=6 | betacarotene_ug=32 | vitA_iu=54 | lutein_ug=80 | vitE_mg=0.57 | vitK_ug=19.3 | water=84 g | note=[https://fdc.nal.usda.gov/food-details/171711/nutrients Link to USDA Database entry] }}

==Phytochemicals and research==

Blueberries contain anthocyanins, other polyphenols and various phytochemicals under preliminary research for their potential biological effects.<ref name="lpi">{{Cite web |date=2026 |title=Flavonoids |url=https://lpi.oregonstate.edu/mic/dietary-factors/phytochemicals/flavonoids |access-date=17 January 2026 |publisher=Micronutrient Information Center, Linus Pauling Institute, Oregon State University, Corvallis, OR}}</ref> Most polyphenol studies have been conducted using the highbush cultivar of blueberries (''V.&nbsp;corymbosum''), while content of polyphenols and anthocyanins in lowbush (wild) blueberries (''V.&nbsp;angustifolium'') exceeds values found in highbush cultivars.<ref>{{Cite journal |vauthors=Kalt W, Ryan DA, Duy JC, Prior RL, Ehlenfeldt MK, Vander Kloet SP |date=October 2001 |title=Interspecific variation in anthocyanins, phenolics, and antioxidant capacity among genotypes of highbush and lowbush blueberries (''Vaccinium cyanococcus'' spp.) |journal=J Agric Food Chem |volume=49 |issue=10 |pages=4761–7 |doi=10.1021/jf010653e |issn=0021-8561 |pmid=11600018}}</ref>

==Uses== {{Cookbook}}

Blueberries are sold fresh or are processed as individually quick frozen fruit, purée, juice, or dried or infused berries. These may then be used in a variety of consumer goods, such as jellies, jams, pies, muffins, snack foods, pancakes, or as an additive to breakfast cereals.

Blueberry sauce is a sweet sauce prepared using blueberries as a primary ingredient.

Blueberry wine is made from the flesh and skin of the berries, which is fermented and then matured; usually, the lowbush variety is used.

==Gallery== <gallery> File:Vaccinium fruit.JPG|A cut blueberry showing how, having been frozen and then thawed, the anthocyanins in the pericarp can run into the flesh File:Anthocyanidine.svg|Core structure common to all anthocyanins, some of which produce the blue pigments in blueberries </gallery>

==See also== {{commons}} {{Portal|Food}} *List of culinary fruits *List of vegetables

==References== {{Reflist}}

==Further reading==

*Retamales, J. B., Hancock, J. F. (2012). ''Blueberries'' (Crop Production Science in Horticulture). CABI. {{ISBN|978-1-84593-826-0}} *{{Cite book |last=Sumner, Judith |title=American Household Botany: A History of Useful Plants, 1620–1900 |publisher=Timber Press |year=2004 |isbn=0-88192-652-3 |page=125}} *Wright, Virginia (2011). ''The Wild Blueberry Book''. Down East Books. {{ISBN|978-0-89272-939-5}}.

{{Blueberries}} {{Non-timber forest products}} {{Taxonbar|from=Q13178}} {{Authority control}}

Category:Blueberries Category:Berries Category:Crops originating from North America Category:Flora of Northern America Category:Fruits originating in North America Category:Plants used in Native American cuisine Category:Shrubs Category:Symbols of New Jersey Category:Vaccinium Category:Crops originating from indigenous Americans Category:Provincial symbols of Nova Scotia