Maine’s beloved wild blueberry fields are home to one of the most important fruit crops in New England, and scientists have found they are warming at a faster rate than the rest of the state.

The University of Maine scientists say the warming of the blueberry fields could imperil the berries and the farmers who tend to them because the rising temperatures have brought loss of water.

The scientists analyzed 40 years of data and found that the state experienced a 1.1 degrees Celsius (1.98 degrees Fahrenheit) increase in average temperature, but the blueberry fields of Down East Maine experienced an increase of 1.3 degrees Celsius (2.34 degrees Fahrenheit).

Farmers produced 47.4 million pounds of Maine wild blueberries last year, and that was the lowest number since 2004.