IMPROVED BERRY QUALITY AND MARKET DIVERSIFICATION ARE ECONOMIC OPPORTUNITIES FOR BOTH WILD BLUEBERRY AND GRAPE INDUSTRIES IN THE NORTHEAST. THE UNIVERSITY OF MAINE EXTENSION, CORNELL COOPERATIVE EXTENSION, AND DALHOUSIE UNIVERSITY RESEARCHERS, FARMERS, AND VALUE-ADDED END USERS WILL EXCHANGE IDEAS AND BUILD NEW RESEARCH-BASED KNOWLEDGE ON BERRY QUALITY WITH THE GOAL OF STRENGTHENING THE RESILIENCY OF BERRIES IN OUR FOOD SYSTEM.IN MAINE AND NOVA SCOTIA, THE NATIVE LOWBUSH (WILD) BLUEBERRY (VACCINIUM ANGUSTIFOLIUM) IS AN ECONOMICALLY AND CULTURALLY IMPORTANT CROP THAT IS GROWN BY APPROXIMATELY 700 FARMERS ON 86,000 ACRES, 95% OF WHICH IS SOLD FROZEN WITH VERY LITTLE QUALITY OBLIGATION. THEREFORE, PRICES HAVE DROPPED TO AN AVERAGE $0.33/LB, WHICH IS NOT ENOUGH TO SUPPORT FAMILY FARM CROP MANAGEMENT. RED GRAPES (VITIS VINIFERA) ARE AN ECONOMICALLY VALUABLE CROP IN NEW YORK STATE, CONTRIBUTING $4.8 BILLION TO THE STATE'S ECONOMY WHERE THEY ENTER STORES AS VALUE-ADDED PRODUCTS. THE FINGER LAKES GRAPE GROWING REGION EXCELS, PARTIALLY DUE TO REGIONALLY SPECIFIC RIPENING KNOWLEDGE. THE EMERGING EASTERN NEW YORK GRAPE AND WILD BLUEBERRY GROWERS WOULD BENEFIT FROM REGIONALLY SPECIFIC QUALITY MANAGEMENT KNOWLEDGE TO TAILOR THEIR CROP TO SPECIFIC HIGH-VALUE MARKETS.THE OBJECTIVES OF THIS PROJECT ARE TO 1) MEASURE THE IMPACT OF ENVIRONMENTAL FACTORS AND CANOPY STRUCTURE ON BERRY DEVELOPMENT USING WILD BLUEBERRIES AND GRAPES AS MODEL SYSTEMS, 2) CONDUCT QUALITY ANALYSES ON BERRIES HARVESTED ON FOUR HARVEST DATES, AND 3) BUILD A COLLABORATIVE NETWORK OF FARMERS AND VALUE-ADDED END USERS TO JUMP START RURAL ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT THROUGH OUR COLLABORATIVE RESEARCH-BASED EXTENSION PROGRAMS.