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Giant blueberry smashes record for heaviest ever

Blueberries - Level 4

A farmer in Australia has broken the record for growing the world's biggest blueberry. The giant berry weighed 20.4 grams. This smashed the previous record of 16.2 grams. The record-breaker was as wide as a table tennis ball. It was 39.31 millimetres in diameter. It was 10 times heavier than a regular blueberry. The farmer said he was happy to be verified by Guinness World Records. He said his fruit was because of "good breeding".

The blueberry is from the Eterna variety. The farmer said this is "a consistently large fruit" with a great flavour. He added: "While the fruit is large, there's absolutely no compromise on quality or flavour." At first, he was unsure if he had broken the record. He said he had to check the weighing scales to make sure. When asked what he would do with his prize berry, he said he might use it in a smoothie.

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Blueberries - Level 5

A farmer in Australia has entered the record books for growing the world's biggest ever blueberry. The giant berry weighed 20.4 grams. This obliterated the previous record, which was 16.2 grams. The record-breaker was as wide as a table tennis ball. It was 39.31 millimetres in diameter and 12.35 centimetres in circumference. It was 10 times heavier than a regular blueberry. The fruit was grown by horticulturalist Brad Hocking. He said he was overjoyed to be officially verified by Guinness World Records. He said it was "a combination of good breeding and good growing".

Mr Hocking said his blueberry was from the Eterna variety, known for its crisp texture and long shelf life. He told reporters Eterna is "a consistently large fruit" with a great flavour. He added: "While the fruit is large, there's absolutely no compromise on quality or flavour, as would be expected when developing a premium variety." At first, he was unsure whether or not he had broken the record. He said he had to recalibrate the scales to make sure. When asked what he would do with his prize berry, he said he might make a smoothie out of it.

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11 online activities    |    8-page printable   (PDF)

Blueberries - Level 6

A farmer in Australia has just entered the record books for growing the world's biggest ever blueberry. The giant berry weighed in at a mammoth 20.4 grams. This obliterated the previous record, which was 16.2 grams. The record-breaker had a width the size of that of a table tennis ball, a diameter of 39.31 millimetres, and a 12.35-centimetre circumference. The record-breaking berry was almost 10 times heavier than a regular blueberry. The fruit was grown by staff at the Costa Group in New South Wales, Australia. Senior horticulturalist Brad Hocking said he was overjoyed to have the record officially verified by Guinness World Records. He said: "It's a combination of good breeding and good growing."

Mr Hocking said his blueberry was from the Eterna variety, known for its crisp texture and long shelf life. He told reporters: "Eterna, as a variety, has a really great flavour and a consistently large fruit. When we picked this one, there were probably around 20 other berries of a similar size." He added: "While the fruit is large, there's absolutely no compromise on quality or flavour, as would be expected when developing a premium variety." At first, he was unsure whether he had broken the record. He said: "We had to recalibrate the scales to make sure we weren't getting mixed up." When asked what he would do with his prize berry, he suggested a smoothie might be the most fitting end for it.

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25 online activities    |    27-page printable    |    2-page mini-lesson