Relationship between anthesis and harvest date in highbush blueberry

The relationship between anthesis, harvest time, and fruit quality using 840 flowers of 'Jersey' highbush blueberry was investigated. The time of flowering and berry harvest was significantly correlated (r=0.485) at the 1% level. Thus, flowers which broom early produced early maturing berries. The highest coefficient of correlation existed between harvest date and the number of days to maturity (r=0.718), whereas that between harvest date and berry weight was negatively but highly correlated (r=-0.660). Considering this bloom characteristic, the possibility exists that harvest date can be manipulated by controlling flowering time through the application of a plant growth regulator, adjusting the cluster size, and/or the degree of pollination and seed set.