Their roots are shallow, they are finicky about their soil, and extreme temperatures can ruin a crop -- but blueberries can bring sweet rewards for San Joaquin Valley growers who master the art of growing them.
Over the last decade, California farmers -- including those in the Valley -- have quietly and some would say secretively grown the blueberry industry from fewer than 200 acres to about 5,000 today.
The crop was valued at $30 million in 2007, and the outlook for this nutrient-rich berry remains strong.
"We have nearly every level of production right now from small plots to large commercial plantings of more than 1,000 acres," said Manuel Jimenez, a University of California farm adviser specializing in cultivating alternative crops for small farmers.
Although blueberries are grown in 38 states, California has moved up the rankings to become the fifth-leading producer. Michigan remains the dominant player.
In the Valley, Tulare County is the state's leading grower, producing a crop valued at $17 million and grown on 627 acres.
Much of the growth in the blueberry industry has been fueled by research showing the tiny fruit has among the highest levels of antioxidants, dietary substances that may improve immune function and lower the risk of infection and cancer.
Mark Villata, executive director of the U.S. Highbush Blueberry Council in Sacramento, said that food makers have developed about 1,300 new products with blueberries as an ingredient.
And consumption of fresh blueberries continues to grow. On the East Coast, about 56% of the blueberries produced are eaten fresh, while on the West Coast that number is 45%.
"We definitely have room to grow out here," Villata said.
With Jimenez's help, Valley farmers have spent years researching and experimenting with different varieties to find the ones best suited to the region's climate and soils.
But even veteran growers never rest on their laurels.
"A few years ago I thought I had this figured out," said Jon Marthedahl, who has been growing blueberries in the Easton area since 1998.
"But more than 10 years later, I still feel like a novice."
And growers often keep their growing secrets to themselves.
Jimenez often hosts field meetings at the UC Kearney Agricultural Center in Parlier to discuss new varieties and growing methods.
"But it's not easy having those field days, because growers don't always want to share," Jimenez said.
The challenge for growers is fine-tuning their techniques. Jimenez warns that the acidic level of the soil needs to be adjusted regularly, and that growers often apply too much water to the southern highbush variety grown in the Valley.
Cold weather and extreme heat can also doom a crop.
Still, despite its challenges and the high startup costs -- a minimum of $11,000 an acre -- growers remain encouraged by consumer demand.
At River Valley Farms in Kingsburg, Paul and Gayle Willems sell berries at their farm store, at two farmers markets and directly to marketing companies that supply major retail chains.
On a recent weekday, Gayle Willems was busy helping a customer from Los Angeles who ventured off the freeway and drove several miles to their farm store.
"People really want their berries," Willems said.
She has also developed a dried blueberry that she recently started selling at the farmers market at Kaiser Permanente Medical Center in Fresno.
"It did very well," she said.
To maintain their edge, California blueberry growers want to create an industry commission that would be a clearinghouse for information and support.
A bill was introduced this spring to create the commission, and Marthedahl expects the Legislature to approve the effort by next year.
Mark Sorenson, a fifth-generation raisin farmer from Caruthers, is like many farmers who turned to growing blueberries in hopes it was more lucrative than other crops.
Sorenson started out slowly with five acres and has built his clientele through farmers markets. He farms 15 acres of blueberries, and that's plenty for him.
"It is the hardest thing I have ever had to grow," Sorenson said. "It's not like a vine you just stick in the ground, water it and it grows. This is intense."
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