Phenotyping morphological traits of blueberry bushes in the field is important for selecting genotypes that are easily harvested by mechanical harvesters. Morphological data can also be used to assess the effects of crop treatments such as plant growth regulators, fertilizers, and environmental conditions. This paper investigates the feasibility and accuracy of an inexpensive unmanned aerial sy...

Hyperspectral imaging can help blueberry growers by detecting berries of various maturity stages, so that they can deploy harvesting labors more efficiently. Spectral-spatial detection from hyperspectral images using selected bands is applied to the blueberry maturity stage detection. Nested clustering technique and morphological operations are used as two approaches to spatially process the hy...

Ecologically, the swamp, or highbush blueberry, Vacxiniunt corymbosum L., differs fundamentally from other cultivated plants in its requirements for an acid soil, a conistant source of moisture (6), and a relatively high anion nutrient uptake (19). In conjunction with studies on blueberry nutrition presented elsewhere (19), data were obtained on the effect of mineral nutrient deficiencies and a...

Blueberry consumption has been shown to have various health benefits in humans. However, little is known about the effect of blueberry consumption on blood pressure, endothelial function and insulin sensitivity in humans. The present study investigated the role of blueberry consumption on modifying blood pressure in subjects with metabolic syndrome. In addition, endothelial function and insulin...

Native to North America, the blueberry maggot fly, Rhagoletis mendax Curran (Diptera: Tephritidae), has historically been considered one of the most important insect pests of commercially grown highbush and lowbush blueberries in many parts of the northeastern and north central United States and Canada. Larval infestation results in unmarketable berries owing to a zero-tolerance policy enforced...

Plant reproductive trade-offs are thought to be caused by resource limitations or other constraints, but more empirical support for these hypotheses would be welcome. Additionally, quantitative characterization of these trade-offs, as well as consideration of whether they are linear, could yield additional insights. We expanded our flower removal research on lowbush blueberry (Vaccinium angusti...

The factors explaining host-associated differentiation (HAD) have not yet been fully characterized, especially in agricultural systems. It is thought that certain characteristics within a system may increase the probability for HAD to occur. These characteristics include relatively long-standing evolutionary relationships between insects and their host plants, endophagy, and allochrony in host-...

Blueberry (Vaccinium spp.) fruit consumption has increased over the last 5 years, becoming the second most important soft fruit species after strawberry. Despite the possible economic and sensory impact, the blueberry volatile organic compound (VOC) composition has been poorly investigated. Thus, the great impact of the aroma on fruit marketability stimulates the need to step forward in the und...

Scorch disease caused by Blueberry scorch virus (BlSV) spreads rapidly and radially from foci of infection. Healthy potted blueberry plants became infected when placed next to diseased field bushes from early May through mid-August. The aphid Fimbriaphis fimbriata, collected from infected field bushes, transmitted BlSV to healthy blueberry plants in controlled tests and was regarded as the most...