The Packer published an article yesterday describing the damage to early blueberries caused by the cold temperatures on February 17-20. Temperatures fell into the low 20s overnight and caused damage that may amount to 10-30 percent of the early blueberry crop. Farmers that ran frost protection lost 10-15 percent of their crops while farmers that did not use frost protection lost 30 to 40 percent of the early crop. The frost protection also caused damage to some bushes because of the weight of ice that developed on branches from the irrigation.
The Packer reported that this is expected to push back the availability of early blueberries by 1-2 weeks since the earliest berries took the biggest hit from the frost. You can read the full article here.
