By Clint Thompson
Florida blueberry producers will soon have a couple of new cultivar options to consider for future seasons.
University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (UF/IFAS) blueberry breeder Patricio Munoz confirmed that two new cultivars will soon be available. These include “Falcon” or FL17-141 and FL19-006. He highlighted Falcon first.
“It’s very high yield and highly concentrated cultivar; large fruit. They are very firm that we have tested to last up to seven weeks without issues in the storage. They can be shipped to long destinations,” Munoz said. “Right now, we have good data that goes all the way to Arcadia, Florida, which is the southern border for blueberry production in Florida, all the way to Alachua County where the university is located; in evergreen production system and deciduous production system.
“In both cases it produces very well. In evergreen production system, it’s early and concentrated which is something growers have been asking me for a while, to get more concentrated blueberries in evergreen production system. The deciduous system is going to be a little bit more in the mid-season. It’s not going to be early. In both cases it’s very high yield.”
FL19-006
Munoz said the FL19-006 cultivar will be more suitable for the premium market.
“This is a blueberry with very high yield as well; very early in the season; jumbo fruit, firm to crunch, flavorful. It’s a blueberry that we are considering for the premium market,” he added. “My idea in the long term is Florida is going to have exceptional fruit only, and we’re going to be competing in the premium market very heavily. That’s the long-term goal.
“In both cases we are talking about new varieties that are producing over 20,000 pounds per acre which is pretty remarkable considering that the average for the state is 4,500 pounds per acre.”