Freeze hurts Georgia blueberry growers

BRISTOL - Georgia blueberry growers estimate they lost at least 15 percent of the crop during a freeze earlier this month. <br> <br> ``It will take another couple of weeks to really see the full damage because the flowers still have to open,&#39;&#39; said Rusty Bell of Bristol, president of the Georgia Blueberry Growers Association. ``Then we&#39;ll be able to see how much damage has been done. And when we harvest, we&#39;ll know a lot more, too.&#39;&#39; <br> <br> Meteorologists said the freeze, about two weeks ago, was caused by a dip in the jet stream, the high altitude airstream that influences weather. Frost advisories were issued for southern Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia and northern Florida. <br> <br> Blueberries have been a successful crop in southeast Georgia, where the acreage has climbed from almost nothing in the 1970s to 4,500 acres. They are a $10 million crop. <br> <br> The bulk of the berries are grown in Pierce, Bacon, Appling, Clinch and Ware counties. <br> <br> Georgia growers begin harvesting their earliest varieties as early as mid-April and May. The main harvest of later varieties starts in June. <br> <br> Though the actual damage isn&#39;t known, Bell said the freeze will certainly hit growers&#39; wallets. <br> <br> ``The main fruit we lost,&#39;&#39; he said, ``is from our early varieties when the fruit sells for $3 to $4 a pound. For the rest of the season, the fruit sells for 70 cents a pound. <br> <br> ``Our berries, both fresh and frozen, are shipped all over the United States and outside,&#39;&#39; Bell said. ``Japan is a really big fresh buyer, and we&#39;re trying to open up some markets in Taiwan.&#39;&#39; <br> <br> The freeze seems to have spared Florida and North Carolina blueberries, Bell said, either because it didn&#39;t get as cold or because the plants weren&#39;t flowering yet. <br> <br> If the plant&#39;s bloom dies, the fruit dies with it. <br> <br> ``A light freeze of 26 degrees or so we can prepare for, but not one in the teens,&#39;&#39; Bell said. ``Usually the cold will just affect pollination. But this freeze killed everything down inside the bud.&#39;&#39;

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