UF Blueberry Breeding Program Update

Newest Cultivar 'Albus' Set for Release This Summer

The UF/IFAS blueberry breeding program has developed many southern highbush blueberry cultivars, which make up most of the commercial production acreage in Florida today. In 2021,  the program released “Sentinel,” a vigorous, early-season, high-yielding cultivar that has scored high in consumer taste panels. It has performed well in both North-Central and Central Florida trial sites, and trials are being conducted in South-Central Florida to determine its production in that region. 

 

The newest UF cultivar is “Albus,” which was approved for release this summer. It is a vigorous, high-yielding, early through late season cultivar for the evergreen production system. The fruit is very firm with a heavy wax bloom (the name “Albus” is Latin for white, referring to the very light berry color due to its bloom), and it has received high scores in consumer taste panels. It begins harvesting early and continues through the end of the Florida season. “Albus” was selected for the Central Florida region, and trials are underway to determine its production in the South-Central Florida area. Machine harvesting trials will be conducted during the upcoming 2023 season. 

 

Cultivar name: Albus (selection code “FL11-51”)

Region best adapted to: Central Florida

Production system: performs well in the evergreen system in Central Florida; additional data to be gathered for performance in South-Central FL

Hydrogen cyanamide: not required

Machine Harvestability: no data yet; trials to be conducted in 2023

Per plant yields:

       o Central FL (2022): 8.9 – 9.0 lbs/plant, average 9.0 lbs/plant 

Known disease susceptibility: none observed to date

Known insect damage susceptibility: moderate level of susceptibility to chilli thrips observed, similar to other cultivars

Fruit quality data:

       o Fruit firmness: 208 – 319 g/mm, average 259 g/mm, higher than “Farthing” and “Optimus”

       o Berry Weight: 1.5 – 2.3 grams, average 1.9 grams, similar to “Kestrel”

       o Berry Diameter: 14.5 – 18.3 mm, average 16.4 mm, similar to “Avanti”

       o Brix: 8.9 – 13.8, average 11.4, similar to “Emerald”

       o Brix/Acid Ratio: 18.1 – 69.5, average 36.7, similar to “Avanti”

       o Fruit scar: normal (small, dry), similar to “Emerald”

       o Wax/bloom: heavy

       o Fruit defects: none

       o Flavor: high flavor score from taste panels (33.0), Above the average (28.3) and slightly below the positive control (35). 

       o Aroma: low

Cultivars on similar flowering time:

       o Central FL – “Sentinel,” “Optimus,” “Arcadia,” “Avanti,” “Chickadee”

Other information: High vigor, with large yield from early through late season. Firm fruit with a heavy wax bloom. Good performance with no disease problems observed.

 

We are continuously selecting cultivars with a higher yield, good flavor, superior fruit quality, and machine harvestability, among other traits. The blueberry breeding process (recurrent phenotypic selection) is quite time-consuming. It begins with 100-150 sets of parents with favorable characteristics that are cross-pollinated. From those crosses, 20,000 seedlings are planted out in a high-density nursery at the PSREU in Citra, where they undergo two stages of selection. By stage 3, the original 20,000 seedlings have been pared down to 100-150 selections. These are clonally propagated by softwood cutting and planted out at trial sites in North-Central and South-Central Florida to be evaluated over 2-3 years. The south-central trial site is used primarily to make selections for the evergreen production system. Following stage 3, 20-25 trial genotypes are advanced to stage 4, where they will be evaluated for 3-4 years for yield, timing, flavor, fruit quality, disease and pest resistance, vigor, and other characteristics. It is from this stage that selections are made for release for commercial production. The entire process can take between 10 and 12 years. The blueberry breeding program is now incorporating molecular selection methods into the breeding process. Using these methods early in the breeding process has reduced the time required to identify a cultivar for release to half of the previous time. Simultaneously, the program continues to carry out research that helps to keep accelerating the breeding process and to understand the consumer experience with blueberries. 

 

CREDIT
DR. PATRICIO MUNOZ, Associate Professor, UF/IFAS

& DOUG PHILLIPS, Blueberry Extension Coordinator, UF/IFAS

 
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