Posted on 06/06/2021 4:54:35 AM PDT by Oldeconomybuyer
PORTLAND, Maine (AP) — Maine’s beloved wild blueberry fields are home to one of the most important fruit crops in New England, and scientists have found they are warming at a faster rate than the rest of the state.
The warming of the blueberry fields could imperil the berries and the farmers who tend to them because the rising temperatures have brought loss of water, according to a group of scientists who are affiliated with the University of Maine.
The scientists analyzed 40 years of data and found that the state experienced a 1.1 degrees Celsius (1.98 degrees Fahrenheit) increase in average temperature, but the blueberry fields of Down East Maine experienced an increase of 1.3 degrees Celsius (2.34 degrees Fahrenheit).
That seemingly small difference is significant because rising temperatures could lead to water deficits that put the blueberries at risk, said Rafa Tasnim, a doctoral candidate in ecology and environmental science at UMaine and the study’s lead author. Lack of water could result in smaller crop sizes and blueberries that are less likely to survive to be harvested.
“What we are expecting is the temperature is going to increase a lot and we will not get as much rainfall in the summertime especially,” said Tasnim, who led a research team that published the study in the research journal Water earlier this year. “What that will mean for the wild blueberry plants is they will be water stressed.”
The study authors found that wild blueberry growers might need to change the way they farm to prepare for future climate change. That could include changes to strategies such as irrigation and fertilizer use.
(Excerpt) Read more at apnews.com ...
I have a few blueberry bushes here in Louisiana that do just fine with me not tending to them at all. Evidently, the climate is not changing here. It has always been sweltering in the summer.
The study authors found that wild blueberry growers might need to change the way they farm to prepare for future climate change. That could include changes to strategies such as irrigation and fertilizer use.
The reality is what is limiting growth? Sometimes it is water, sometimes temperature, sometimes fertility and the list goes on.
What is the limiting growth factor?
Lets see some studies on the temp factor. My guess is that production increases as temp increases if other factors are not limiting.
Says “Wild Blueberries” on the package...
After talking to some flight passengers a week ago, I learned that Alaska is now just ‘one big marsh’ due to climate change and the Maldives is now a good place to visit ‘year round’ (no bad season) due to climate change.
smh.
We’re talking about a *predicted* change in 1.5 degree Celsius over the next 80 years...yet so many can ‘see’ it happening now. Unreal.
LOL, I believe the process is called "irrigation", it's employed widely across the state of Texas (and many others, last time I checked).
OMG, there are so many stupid people out there.
Drip irrigation, to be precise. I’m a horticulturalist and used drip on my 20ac Nursery/Garden Center/Landscape Contracting Operation. But first they’d have to get water to the fields via pipelines; then drip on timers, by zones, comes into play.
BTW, my blueberry bushes are doing just fine.
My dog found an unbelievably rich wild blueberry patch in the Rockies on a pipeline right-of-way a few years ago. When the berries are ripe, I can clean pick a pint every 10 minutes, and don’t have to move for 40 minutes.
I just have to pay attention now: the dog is gone, and there are brown bears around. My mother met one a few years ago. < BG >
Agreed, it has been unseasonably wet the past two weeks here in North Texas. Been seeing gully washers almost every day.
Mom heard snuffling and stood up, bear stood up, saw mom and BOOKED IT!
Neither dog saw the bear until it was leaving. The old boy (the one that found the patch) just barked twice and watched the bear leave, the chihuahua yipped and hid.
Useful, not so much...
I just bought a quart of NC blueberries that are as big around as the end of my little finger.
The all time fattest wild blueberries I ever picked came off a bush high in the mountains that had its roots sunk into a boggy area.
My hometown is considered the Blueberry Capital of the World, (Hammonton, NJ)
Took a walk through the woods this morning. Bumper crop of huckleberries this year.
Truth be told?
They are not that great. Too sweet. Not enough blueberries flavor
Yep, Crazy story. Nature going about being naturally there without us helping it to survive 24/7.
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