Crops do well despite rain
Potatoes and blueberries thrived this summer, despite the odd summer weather that brought gray skies, rain and fungal disease scares.
Potato growers expect a harvest as good as or better than last year, even though late blight appeared in parts of Aroostook County and had to be staved off by emergency aerial applications of fungicide in July. Tim Hobbs, of the Maine Potato Board, told the Bangor Daily News that farmers planted 56,000 acres of potatoes, the same amount as last year, and expect a high yield once they start picking mid-September, bringing in about $125 million in sales.
Maine's $250 million wild blueberry crop also appears healthy this year but won't likely break any records, according to experts. The rains delayed the berry harvest but otherwise did not compromise the crop, the Bangor Daily News reported. A fungus common in Canada called Valdensinia leaf spot, however, showed up in Maine fields for the first time this summer and could become a problem in the future, the paper reported.
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