1. UF Blueberry breeding update
James W. Olmstead | Associate Professor Horticultural Sciences Department

2. UF Cultivar Release Must adhere to current UF-IFAS standards.
Must be approved for release by the Cultivar Release Advisory Committee and the IFAS Cultivar Release Committee.
After release, Florida Foundation Seed Producers, Inc. handles commercialization for the University of Florida.
70% of royalty payments to UF come directly back to the blueberry breeding program.

3. Blueberry Cultivar Development Timeline
Yr 1
Yr 3
Yr 5
Yr 7
Yr 9
Yr 11
Yr 13
Yr 15
Commercialization
Cultivar release decision
Multi-site trial evaluation
Multi-site trial planting
Third trial evaluation
Third trial planting
Second trial evaluation
First trial evaluation
First trial planting
Seed germinate
Crosses made
Blueberry Cultivar Development Timeline
Year
Activity

4. Advanced Selection Trial Sites
Suwanee Creek Farms Homerville, GA
Straughn Farms Windsor/Waldo, FL
Miller Blueberry Farm Interlachen, FL
PSREU Citra, FL
Dole Fruit Haines City, FL
Island Grove Ag Prod. Arcadia, FL

5. KeecrispTM
‘FL06-556’

6. ‘FL06-556’ (Keecrisp)
‘FL06-556’ is a low chill (300+ chill hours 0 to 7°C), mid to late- maturing genotype best adapted to production regions in north central Florida and south Georgia. The key attributes for ‘FL06-556’ are:
Crisp fruit texture
Upright architecture
High yield when receiving adequate chilling
Can be grown using hydrogen cyanamide with some yield loss
Small dry picking scar
Suitable for machine harvest and fresh marketing
Higher chill requirement limits production in Central Florida
Best adapted to a hydrogen cyanamide production system
Often delayed leafing, even with hydrogen cyanamide application
Late maturity
Uneven fruit coloring at stem end + -

7. ‘FL06-556’ (Keecrisp)

11. Titratable acidity (%)
Fruit Quality –
Genotype
Fruit wt (g)
Fruit firmness (g/mm)
Soluble solids (%)
Titratable acidity (%)
SS/TA ratio
FL06-556
2.6
266 a
11.3
0.17 a
73.3 ab
Arcadia
2.5
179 d
11.6
0.40 c
31.6 c
Meadowlark
2.4
236 b
10.8
80.9 a
Farthing
225 b
10.9
0.23 a
57.3 abc
Endura
225 bc
10.7
0.24 ab
52.2 abc
Emerald
198 cd
0.38 bc
34.1 bc
Thresholds
2.0 g min.
150 g/mm min.
10% min.
1.0% max.
>14

12. Bloom and Harvest Timing (2012-2015)
CitraZ
Waldo
Citra
50% Bloom
50% Harvest
Cultivar
DOY (date)
FL06-556
58±3 (2/27)
45±11 (2/14)
124± (5/4)
125±5 (5/5)
Arcadia
46±6 (2/15)
46±6 (2/15)
115±4 (4/25)
115±4 (4/25)
Endura
41±8 (2/10)
n.a.
116±13 (4/26)
119±6 (4/29)
Meadowlark
36±4 (2/5)
38±14 (2/7)
103±5 (4/13)
103±5 (4/13)
Farthing
50±4 (2/19)
45±10 (2/14)
127± (5/7)
127±3 (5/7)
Emerald
37±3 (2/6)
35±19 (2/4)
119±6 (4/29)
123±4 (5/3)
Z No hydrogen cyanamide used at Citra trial.

13. Postharvest Trial – 2015
Partnered with USDA – US Hort Research Lab (Anne Plotto and Liz Baldwin).
RA storage, trained panel testing after 7 and 14 days.

14. Fruit Quality and Yield Summary
Yield data for FL were collected at Citra trials during 2014 and 2015.
Trials at this location do not use hydrogen cyanamide, and the higher chilling requirement of FL is not suited for this type of management.
Trial plantings in South Georgia and North Central Florida using hydrogen cyanamide have generated considerable interest among producers, although no harvest data are currently available.
Fruit quality is excellent – crisp, low acid, spherical fruit that has stable sensory characteristics over postharvest life.

15. With crisp texture and improved plant architecture, producers can machine harvest and market the product fresh – decreasing labor costs and increasing profit margins.

16. IndigocrispTM
‘FL98-325’ – (USPPAF)

17. ‘Patrecia’
(52-20)

18. ‘Patrecia’ – Straughn Farms Program
‘Patrecia’ was never trialed by UF, and we do not have the typical data to support release as with cultivars from the UF breeding program.
‘Patrecia’ fits a definite need for North Central Florida growers, as it is early maturing (10 days before ‘Star’, similar to ‘Springhigh’) but has better fruit quality (large, firm, dry stem scar) than ‘Springhigh’.

19. ‘Patrecia’

21. ‘Patrecia’ Tight clusters – hand harvest only.
Firm, large, oblate fruit, good presentation on the bush – pickers love to harvest this cultivar.
Scar is not the smallest, but does not tear like ‘Springhigh’
Likely a temporary solution, but fits a niche in our current market timings.

22. UF-IFAS Blueberry Releases (2004-2015)
Release Year
Variety
Outlook
Notes
2004
Springhigh
Decreasing
Early season alternative but marketers do not want fruit
2005
Primadonna
Stable
Early season, but difficult to achieve full crop potential
Snowchaser
Minor
Early but fruit quality often not ideal
Sweetcrisp
More acreage in Georgia
2007
Farthing
Increasing
Widely planted Ocala-north
Scintilla
Plant longevity is an issue
2009
Bobolink
Has not been widely adopted
Chickadee
Interest in very low-chill areas in Central Florida
Flicker
Disease problems in Central Florida
Kestrel
Meadowlark
More acreage in Georgia, Xylella an issue
Raven
2013
Indigocrisp
Currently in trial, propagation increasing Gainesville-north
2015
Arcadia
Currently in trial, propagation increasing in South Central FL
Avanti
Currently in trial, propagation increasing
Endura
Currently in trial, propagation increasing in Central Florida
To estimate chill requirement:
Floral bud counts and staging were done on 3 canes per plant
The percentage at or past bud break was evaluated per cane, and all canes were averaged.
To determine chill hour requirement, there were 3 criteria:
Which chill hour treatment had the highest number average of floral buds progress at or above bud break?
If multiple chill hour treatments had the same average, which chill hour treatment got there first?
If multiple chill hour treatments had the same average, got there at the same week, then what is the lowest chill hour treatment that produced these results?
Graph used:
Season 2 ( ) data
2009 Stg. IV plant
Location – Windsor
Genotype –

24. Thank You! James Olmstead Associate Professor
Institute for Food and Agricultural Sciences
Horticultural Sciences Dept.
University of Florida