Blueberry cultivars have been developed at UGA since the 1940s, however the state industry blossomed when the University began licensing those cultivars to industry partners, helping Georgia become the number one state in blueberry production. Since joining UGA in 1990, D. Scott NeSmith, professor of horticulture, has released more than a dozen new patented commercial and ornamental blueberry varieties licensed and grown on every continent except Antarctica.