Plant growth regulators (PGRs) are natural or synthetically derived plant hormones that play a significant role in shaping plant growth and development. In tree fruit and table grape production, PGRs are commonly employed to address production challenges, including modulating crop load and improving fruit size, coloration, and quality. Meanwhile, their use in berry crops such as blueberry remains limited despite the prevalence of production challenges and the availability of registered PGRs for other fruit crops. This review summarizes the existing literature regarding PGR use in blueberry, as well as the current needs for research on PGRs going forward. First, considering the large increase in U.S. blueberry production over the past decade, we highlight the lack of PGRs registered and utilized in blueberry compared to other fruit crops. Second, we summarize the current literature on the utility of PGRs to mitigate challenges in blueberry production, including cold hardiness and frost protection, dormancy release, fruit size and crop load management, fruit quality improvement, post-harvest shelf-life extension. Finally, this work presents future opportunities for research involving PGRs in blueberry production. As blueberry production continues to increase in the U.S. and globally, the need to mitigate production challenges using PGRs will likely also increase.
