In the state of New South Wales, Australia, farmers have shattered records by growing the world's heaviest blueberry, a feat that has earned them a place in the Guinness Book of Records.
Reported by The Guardian, this remarkable blueberry, cultivated by Costa using hand-farming techniques, tipped the scales at 20.4 grams and measured about 39 millimeters in diameter, nearly matching the size of a golf ball.
It was collected on November 13, 2023, but it wasn't until March of this year that it was officially recognized by Guinness World Records.
"When we put it on the scales, I was a bit shocked. I knew it was big, but I had to weigh it twice to make sure," stated Brad Hocking, head of blueberries at Costa.
The record-breaking berry is of the Eterna variety. It was created as part of Costa's blueberry improvement program. Every year, the company introduces one or two new berry varieties.
As blueberries grow in size, their quality tends to deteriorate. However, the Eterna blueberry is "firm and has a good shelf life," According to Hocking.
The record-breaking berry is not unusual for the Eterna variety, as about 20 berries of the same size were found during the harvest, Hocking added.
Following its record achievement, the blueberry was frozen. There are plans to encase it in resin and display it, according to Hocking.
This blueberry surpasses the previous world record by approximately 1.25 times in weight. The former record-holder, a blueberry weighing 16.2 grams with a diameter of 36.33 mm, was also grown by Ozblu in Western Australia in both 2020 and 2018.
