JONESBORO (AP) – Maine’s wild blueberry growers are predicting a fair to poor crop as they prepare for the annual harvest that will get under way during the next couple of weeks.

Nearly 100 growers Wednesday attended the annual blueberry field day at the University of Maine’s Blueberry Hill Farm, where they heard about new research and shared observations about this year’s crop.

Anything will be better than last year, when just 46 million pounds were harvested, the growers said. Last year’s haul was the the smallest since 1991 and about half the seasonal average.

With this summer’s harvest just a couple of weeks away, growers for now are hoping for rain and a respite from the heat that has gripped the state.

“I’m seeing some good fields east of Ellsworth,” Roy Allen of Allen’s Blueberry Freezer said of his company’s land. “But it’s a decent crop, not a bumper crop. Things are starting to catch up with the heat.”

Cherryfield Foods, which owns sizeable tracts of blueberry barrens in Washington County, is expecting a fair crop, said general manager Ragnar Kamp.

“If we get rain, we might do better,” he said.

Other growers were less optimistic.

Paul Sweetland of Union said he is anticipating a poor crop, with the harvest coming in early August, about a week later than usual. Vernon Hunter of West Rockport called his crop “the poorest I’ve seen in 15 years.”

Sanford Kelley of Jonesport said his berries were unusually small.

“I have never seen a crop as bad as this one,” he said.

Last year’s poor crop was attributed to extensive winter damage and a mummy berry disease problem.

A wet spring this year reduced the ability of bees to pollinate and provide a good protection against the blight by mummy berry disease.