(CASTLE HAYNE) -- Despite the late freeze, blueberry growers may have nothing to worry about this year.  Dexter Hill, a marketing specialist with the North Carolina Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, said North Carolina is the seventh-largest producer of blueberries in the nation.

He added that in 2012, 41 million pounds of blueberries were produced in North Carolina and that this season could bring even more.

"The late freeze delayed budding by about two weeks but the cold weather did not damage the crops so this season could be one of the best in years," Hill said.

Hill said the research on blueberries is also important to the future of agriculture in North Carolina. He said the Horticultural Crops research station is located in Castle Hayne, N.C.. and is home to the world's number one public blueberry breeding program.

"They are taking cultivars f    rom across the United States and testing them on a 50-acre test plot for selective characteristics such as improved yield, flavor and resistance to disease," Hill said.