Plant material for two new blueberry cultivars ideal for the early market window in the southern US is becoming available in commercial quantities for planting.
The new varieties are southern highbush cultivars developed by US department of agriculture (USDA) researchers in Mississippi.
In addition to high yields of plump berries and vigorous growth, the new cultivars are early-ripeners coming on stream in April-May.
Stephen Stringer, a geneticist with USDA’s Agricultural Research Service (ARS) who worked on the project, said there has been limited acreage of southern highbush blueberries because their lack of vigour has made them difficult to grow.
Gupton and Pearl are different because they were derived from crosses made among southern highbush germplasm with improved adaptation to the south-eastern US.
In Mississippi field trials, Gupton and Pearl flowered in mid to late April and were ready for harvest approximately 21 days before the earliest ripening rabbiteye cultivars, the predominant type grown in the southern US. The highbush cultivars produce firm, medium-to-large berries with a light-blue colour and a high soluble-solids content, among other desirable traits. The cultivars themselves grow as cone-shaped, upright shrubs and have a chilling requirement that is necessary for springtime blooms of 400 to 500 hours at temperatures below 7°C.
More propagative material is now becoming available from tissue-culture operations and softwood cuttings.
Stringer said: “We also released Prince, an early-ripening rabbiteye that can be harvested seven to 10 days sooner than existing rabbiteyes."
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