Blueberry plants do not need a lot of pruning. Instead, just a little thinning is needed, or as Steve Renquist puts it, "a stem here and a stem there."

STEVE RENQUIST: “We’ve had a number of them growing in our master gardener locations both in the ground and in pots. And we notice that we need to reinvigorate and repot them about every four or five years.”

Blueberries are sold fresh, frozen and processed, and used in baked goods and other foods. Major production states include Maine, New Jersey, North Carolina and Florida on the East Coast; Michigan in the Midwest; and Oregon, Washington and California on the West Coast.

Maine produces wild blueberries, but most commercial growers in other states use cultivated highbush plants. The North American harvest runs from the middle of April through early October.

The US Highbush Blueberry Council points out that the blueberry is one of the few fruits native to North America. The United States and Canada are the world's largest producers and consumers of blueberries. But South America, Australia, New Zealand and Europe have also developed highbush blueberry industries. And demand is growing in other markets as well, especially Japan.

And that’s the VOA Special English Agriculture Report, written by Jerilyn Watson. For more gardening advice, go to voaspecialenglish.com. I'm Karen Leggett.