1. Breeding SHB Cultivars at UF-IFAS Dr. Jim Olmstead Horticultural Sciences Department FBGA Fall Meeting – September 19, 2013

2. 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

3. UF Blueberry Breeding Strategy Recurrent selection High density nursery, rapid breeding cycles Large parent, cross, and seedling numbers

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5. Up to 200 crosses per year Elite parents (cultivars and advanced selections) Top seedling performers Wild germplasm

6. UF Blueberry Timeline Jan.

7. UF Blueberry Timeline

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10. UF Blueberry Timeline

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13. 2009 Stage 1 Stage 1 Precocious Early maturity Large size Good color Good stem scar Firmness Flavor

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16. 2009 Stage 1 2008 Stage 2 2007 Stage 2 Stage 2 Survival Chill adaptation Crop potential Early maturity Large size Good color Good stem scar Firmness Flavor

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19. 2006 Stage 3 2007 Stage 3 2008 Stage 3 2009 Stage 3 Stage 3 – Cooperator trial 200+/year 15 plant plots Survivability

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21. Advanced Selection Trial Sites Windsor/Waldo, FL Haines City, FL Citra, FL Arcadia, FL Interlachen, FL

22. Stage 4 – 20/year 5-50 plant plots Management systems Yield trials Fruit quality measurements

23. Field Ratings (2011-2013) 50% BloomHarvest GenotypeDate (DOY)TimingSurv.YieldLeaf.SizeColorScarFirm.Flavor Proposed44Early-mid77786898 Emerald37Mid-late88897786 Scintilla31Early-mid76789879 Star49Mid76677777 Sweetcrisp41Late95657998 Farthing45Mid-late99567996 Meadowlark34Early77778687 Primadonna41Early-mid84666768

24. Lab Ratings (2012) Avg. Berry% Titrat.% SolubleSS/TAFirmness GenotypeWt. (g)AciditySolidsRatio(g/mm) Proposed2.41 ± 0.240.472 ± 0.1611.5 ± 0.9226.6 ± 9.1247.94 ± 16.9 Emerald2.40 ± 0.211.106 ± 0.159.1 ± 2.108.6 ± 3.4183.32 ± 17.2 Scintilla2.68 ± 0.260.746 ± 0.2812.8 ± 2.3019.8 ± 10.1231.97 ± 6.5 Star2.28 ± 0.420.851 ± 0.239.8 ± 2.6511.9 ± 4.0217.96 ± 14.7 Sweetcrisp2.31 ± 0.080.842 ± 0.0712.5 ± 1.3314.9 ± 1.6262.29 ± 37.5 Farthing2.34 ± 0.260.688 ± 0.1310.5 ± 1.9315.8 ± 4.7230.49 ± 14.2 Meadowlark2.67 ± 0.250.461 ± 0.1011.3 ± 0.6825.3 ± 5.6233.06 ± 7.2

25. Harvest Timing/Yield Total pounds/week for 5 bushes (3-yr old planting) Week of YearSelection 1Selection 2Jewel 53.0000 6000 71.1900 80.8800 9000 103.630.070 112.750.070 125.380.440 133.761.000 144.325.515.69 154.828.578.45 162.697.9416.7 173.446.444.50 184.1911.578.69 191.383.380.88 Total (Pound/5 bush)41.4344.9944.91 Pound/acre (1800 plants)14,90016,100

26. Sensory Evaluations Anne Plotto and Liz Baldwin – USDA

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28. 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

29. 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.

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31. 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

32. 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

33. 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. 2211 Fifield Hall Gainesville, FL 32611 (352) 273-4837 http://www.hos.ufl.edu/faculty/jwolmstead