Fruit
The major fruit crop in Mississippi is blueberries, with more than 2,000 acres in production. Since blueberries are native to the Southeast and grow well in the pine belt of south Mississippi, commercial production of blueberries has been important to the horticultural economy of Mississippi since the 1970s. Mississippi State University Extension personnel work with blueberry growers to achieve maximum production, but they also strive for management practices that are sustainable. Although blueberries are the dominant crop, other fruit crops are important on a smaller scale, such as bunch grapes and muscadines, tree fruits (apples, peaches, pears, plums, and nectarines), citrus (kumquat, satsuma, Meyer lemon), blackberries, strawberries, and various other alternative fruit crops like figs, mayhaws, and persimmons.
Publications
News
RAYMOND, Miss. -- This year, Julie Bounds was expecting a bumper crop of blueberries. What she could not anticipate was the excess amount of rainfall her family’s blueberry farm would receive. This untimely rain has been the biggest challenge for growers across the state.
Fresh blueberries are a classic summer treat! I especially love grabbing a bag of fresh blueberries from my local farmer’s market.
Sweet summertime is almost here! Nothing says sweet summertime quite like snacking on a delicious slice of watermelon.
Success Stories
Fenton Pope looked around his native Covington County a quarter-century ago and saw what he believed was an alarming amount of farmland out of production.
The Vineyard Pruning Workshop, funded by the Southern Region Small Fruit Consortium, taught the basics of vine anatomy and pruning techniques for muscadines and bunch grapes. In-field demonstrations showed participants correct pruning techniques in the vineyard.