Blueberry Varieties
SOUTHERN HIGHBUSH VARIETIES
Emerald was released as a patented variety by the University of Florida in 1999, and is currently one of the more widely planted varieties in north-central Florida. The chilling requirements are 50 to 100 hrs of chill. Emerald combines a vigorous, upright, bush with high yield potential, early ripening, and large, high quality berries. Emerald flowers open uniformly, and it produces abundant leaves even after mild winters in Gainesville. Because the plant is highly vigorous when planted on suitable soils, Emerald is capable of carrying heavy crops. Emerald normally reaches full bloom in Gainesville about Feb 15, and overhead irrigation is needed to protect flowers and fruit from freezes. First harvest occurs a few days earlier for Emerald than for Sharpblue and Star in Gainesville. About 90% of the fruit of Emerald is normally ripe between April 19 and May 15 in Gainesville.
Gulf Coast was released by the USDA in 1987. It is not patented and may be propagated without restrictions. The chilling requirements are 100 hrs of chill. Plants are vigorous, semi upright with medium to high productivity. Fruit are medium in size and firm with good flavor. Gulf Coast has been widely used as a pollinizer for Sharpblue and Misty. It has preformed better than most varieties in SW Florida. A major problem associated with Gulf Coast is a tendency for stems to remain attached to fruit during harvest. Gulf Coast remains one of the more widely grown varieties south of I-4.
Sharpblue is an early season variety released by the University of Florida in 976. It is the industry standard for its early season, and it is the most widely planted southern highbush variety in Florida. Its chilling requirements are between 100 & 150 hrs of chill. The fruit are large with good flavor, but fruit for the fresh market must be hand harvested. Overhead irrigation is suggested because of its early bloom period. Sharpblue is moderately susceptible to Phytophthora root rot, stem blight, and several leaf spot diseases. In Florida, Sharpblue ripens most of its crop before the late May drop in berry prices. Not recommended for north or northwest Florida because of susceptibility to spring freezes.
Misty was released by the University of Florida in 1992. It is not patented and may be propagated without restrictions. The chilling requirements are between 100 & 150 hours of chill. It is a very early variety with good fruit size and quality, and a dry picking scar. Misty plants tend to flower heavily and leaf poorly in the spring. This combination results in a heavy berry set with insufficient leaves to support the crop; this results in very late fruit ripening and renders the plants highly susceptible to blueberry stem blight. For the first two years after planting, flowers and young fruit should be removed from Misty plants before spring growth begins. The growth regulator Dormex is generally needed for adequate leafing of Misty plants of bearing age.
Jewel is a patented release from the University of Florida with a moderately low chilling requirement about 100 hours of chill. It is a very early ripening, and high quality berry. In Gainesville, Jewel typically flowers about February 16 and begins ripening about 5 days earlier than Sharpblue. The average date when commercial harvest for Jewel begins in Gainesville is about April 15 and harvest is normally finished by May 12. Jewel produces a large number of flower buds but leafs well in the spring. Vigor is about equal to Sharpblue, it tends to be tall and upright. Berry quality is excellent but tends to be tart until fully ripe. Berry size is about equal to Sharpblue, but firmness and scar are much better than Sharpblue. Jewel is moderately susceptible to Phytophthora root rot. Overhead irrigation is recommended for freeze protection wherever Jewel is grown.
Santa Fe is a patented release from the University of Florida. It appears to have a chilling requirement of about 300 hours. Santa Fe is strong, vigorous and upright, with early ripening, high quality fruit. Santa Fe is known to be disease resistant. Where flower bud set is excessive, winter pruning is required to promote adequate dud break. On average, Santa Fe reaches 50% open flower around Feb 25 in Gainesville. Berries are light blue with excellent flavor, scars and firmness. Santa Fe is difficult to propagate by cuttings.
Star was released by the University of Florida as a patented variety in 1995. Star is slightly less vigorous than Sharpblue but its survival in the field is about equal to Sharpblue. Star holds its winter dormancy much better than Sharpblue and is less likely to bloom in January or early February. Average date on which Star reaches 50% bloom in Gainesville is Feb 23. The first half of the berries are normally ripe by April 20. Chilling requirements for Star is between 200 & 300 hrs. Star has a very short bloom to ripe interval and has a relatively compressed harvest period of about 3 weeks. Berries are excellent in size firmness, and scar. It is best grown north Florida where chilling is not a problem.
Windsor is a vigorous bush, with stout stems and a semi spreading growth habit. The date of 50% open flower in Gainesville is about Feb 23. The chilling requirements are 150 to 200 hrs of chill. Windsor leafs out strongly as it begins to flower, and this strong leafing enables it to support a large crop. Windsor berries are very large. It has good firmness and flavor Although Windsor grows and fruits well, it has lost favor among growers because of the deep picking scar which complicates packing and reduces post harvest life.
Springwide is a new patented southern highbush blueberry variety which has a low chilling requirement of 50 to 100 hrs of chill. The berries are large firm, with medium blue in color and has a small dry picking scar. It ripens early April in Sebring Florida. Yield of Springwide is expected to be medium. Springwide appears to have medium to good resistance to phytophthora root rot, cane canker and stem blight. It also has excellent leafing early in the spring, and early ripening.
Sweetcrisp is a new patented southern highbush with very low chill requirements. Sweetcrisp is a high vigor, early leafing, early ripening plant. The date of 50% ripe berries in Gainesville is around April 20. Its chilling requirements are between 100 & 150 hrs of chill. The berries are very sweet and very firm. Sweetcrisp is a very vigorous and resistant to stem blight and root rot.
Springhigh is a new patented southern highbush. It ripens very early with the first 50% of berries ripe April 15 in Gainesville. Springhigh produces a strong, upright bush with a chill requirement of 100 to 200 hrs. The berries are large and firm with a dry picking scar. It also has a high resistance to phytophthora root rot and produces a larger somewhat darker berry color.
Primadonna makes a vigorous, upright bush that is easy to propagate by softwood cuttings. The average date of 50% open flower is Feb 16. The chilling requirements are 100 to 150 hrs of chill. It makes a medium to high number of flower buds. Primadonna tends to flower before it makes new leaves in Feb and March. Many Florida growers use Dormex to promote early, strong leafing because of this. The berries of Primadonna are large and have excellent scar and firmness. Berry color and flavor are good.
Abundance is a new low chill southern highbush, it is expected to be best adapted in central and north Florida. Abundance is a very vigorous bush with an upright growth habit. It produces a large number of flower buds in the fall and it flowers heavily in the spring. Abundance flowers early in the spring. The date of 50% open flower in Gainesville is Feb 18. The berries are large and have medium blue color and good firmness and flavor. The picking scar is generally good, but some tears will occur when over ripe. Abundance appears to have average or above average resistance to phytophthora root rot. The main advantages of Abundance are its very high vigor and yield potential. |
