Breeding SHB Cultivars at UF-IFAS Dr. Jim Olmstead Horticultural Sciences Department FBGA Fall Meeting – September 19, 2013
UF Blueberry Breeding History 1950s: Ralph Sharpe begins blueberry breeding at UF 1976: Wayne Sherman and Ralph Sharpe release ‘Sharpblue’ and ‘Flordablue’ – first southern highbush varieties 1990s: Plantings increased with improved varieties released by Paul Lyrene. 2000s: Rapid expansion of Florida industry
UF Blueberry Breeding Strategy Recurrent selection High density nursery, rapid breeding cycles Large parent, cross, and seedling numbers
Year
Up to 200 crosses per year Elite parents (cultivars and advanced selections) Top seedling performers Wild germplasm
UF Blueberry Timeline Jan.
UF Blueberry Timeline
Year
UF Blueberry Timeline
Year
2009 Stage 1 Stage 1 Precocious Early maturity Large size Good color Good stem scar Firmness Flavor
Year
2009 Stage Stage Stage 2 Stage 2 Survival Chill adaptation Crop potential Early maturity Large size Good color Good stem scar Firmness Flavor
Year
2006 Stage Stage Stage Stage 3 Stage 3 – Cooperator trial 200+/year 15 plant plots Survivability
Year
Advanced Selection Trial Sites Windsor/Waldo, FL Haines City, FL Citra, FL Arcadia, FL Interlachen, FL
Stage 4 – 20/year 5-50 plant plots Management systems Yield trials Fruit quality measurements
Field Ratings ( ) 50% BloomHarvest GenotypeDate (DOY)TimingSurv.YieldLeaf.SizeColorScarFirm.Flavor Proposed44Early-mid Emerald37Mid-late Scintilla31Early-mid Star49Mid Sweetcrisp41Late Farthing45Mid-late Meadowlark34Early Primadonna41Early-mid
Lab Ratings (2012) Avg. Berry% Titrat.% SolubleSS/TAFirmness GenotypeWt. (g)AciditySolidsRatio(g/mm) Proposed2.41 ± ± ± ± ± 16.9 Emerald2.40 ± ± ± ± ± 17.2 Scintilla2.68 ± ± ± ± ± 6.5 Star2.28 ± ± ± ± ± 14.7 Sweetcrisp2.31 ± ± ± ± ± 37.5 Farthing2.34 ± ± ± ± ± 14.2 Meadowlark2.67 ± ± ± ± ± 7.2
Harvest Timing/Yield Total pounds/week for 5 bushes (3-yr old planting) Week of YearSelection 1Selection 2Jewel Total (Pound/5 bush) Pound/acre (1800 plants)14,90016,100
Sensory Evaluations Anne Plotto and Liz Baldwin – USDA
Year
UF Variety Release Must adhere to current UF-IFAS standards -Tested in enough replication, locations, years, etc. -Chain of custody – developmental timeline, MTA agreements -Foundation stock -Plan for intellectual property protection and commercialization
UF Variety Release Cultivar Release Advisory Committee -Departmental, comprised of research and Extension Cultivar Release Committee -IFAS Once the variety is approved by these two committees it is considered “Released”. Variety is commercially available only when licenses for propagation have been offered.
Year 13
UF Variety Release After release, Florida Foundation Seed Producers, Inc. handles commercialization for the University of Florida. Patent/trademark application filed Licensing strategy developed Licenses for propagation in Southeastern U.S. offered Upon request for other territories worldwide, Invitation to Negotiate (ITN) is considered
Royalties UF – IFAS policy on release, protection and introduction of plant material: 70% of the royalty payment comes directly back to the breeding program Royalty payments fund personnel, students, and infrastructure
David Norden – Research Coord. Werner Collante – Lab Manager Paul Lyrene – Professor Emeritus Rachel Itle – Postdoctoral Assoc. Sarah Taber – Postdoctoral Assoc. Patty Rodriguez – PhD Student Gerardo Nunez – PhD Student Jessica Gilbert – PhD Student Catherine Cellon – MS Student UF Blueberry Breeding and Genetics Dr. Jim Olmstead UF-IFAS Horticultural Sciences Dept Fifield Hall Gainesville, FL (352)