The 2011 ASHS Annual Conference

The goal of the recently developed eXtension “All about Blueberries” Community of Practice (CoP) website is to encourage blueberry production and consumption in the United States. The website engages a wide range of audiences, called the Community of Interest (CoI), including growers (commercial and backyard), blueberry consumers, and 4-H/Youth who want to learn about blueberries. A team of researchers and extension specialists are collaborating to develop content for our multi-faceted constituents in order to empower our CoI to make educated decisions that benefit their well-being and improve their quality of life. Project content areas include: “Blueberry Production”, “Consumers”, and “4-H/Youth”.  Horticulture experts from multiple states are focusing their effort on developing credible, research-based, up-to-date information and sophisticated online tools and solutions for the “Blueberry Production” section of the website, which commercial blueberry producers can implement in their daily operations. One of the novel tools we have developed is a Moodle self-educating course that offers information on various aspects of blueberry production and provides the student with an opportunity to assess their newly acquired knowledge on the subject. Numerous video clips developed by our team of horticulturists offer information on critical blueberry production topics including: proper soil sample collection; blueberry pollination; and how to thin blueberry bushes. Interactive clickable diagrams are being developed that will display the blueberry plant anatomy and present information on the function within the plant system. Some of the challenges our horticulture specialists have encountered are attributable to the environmental local differences and varying blueberry responses to different growing conditions and regional pest and environment responses. We strive to actively engage and work together with the project Advisory Board members to improve the content, format, and information accessibility of the web portal. Working in a multi-state environment is providing greater visibility of the scientific information we are offering at “The Blueberry Production” section and multiplies the overall impact for commercial blueberry growers.