By Frank Giles
The Southeast has become a major production area for blueberries, thanks to strong breeding programs at land grant universities in key states. Here’s a look at several popular, new and under-development varieties from those breeding programs.
University of Florida/Breeding Team Lead: Patricio Munoz
Sentinel
Sentinel is a vigorous, early-season, high-yielding cultivar with no known disease issues, although it does suffer from some chilli thrips damage. It produces good yields in the first full year after planting. The fruit has good flavor, and it performs well in both deciduous and evergreen systems. Sentinel has also performed well with commercial machine harvesting.
Falcon
Falcon is a vigorous, very high-yielding, early-season cultivar for evergreen production systems in Central and South Central Florida. It has no known disease or pest issues. Very high yields have been documented for several years in South Florida. The fruit is jumbo, very firm, with high wax bloom and a long postharvest life. Machine harvest trials are beginning to be established for Falcon.
FL19-006
FL19-006 is a very early, vigorous, high-yielding cultivar for evergreen production systems in Central and South Central Florida. It has no known disease or pest issues. FL19-006 produces good yields in the first full year after planting. The fruit is jumbo sized, very sweet and firm, with high wax bloom and a long postharvest life. Machine harvest trials are beginning to be established for this variety.
University of Georgia/Breeding Team Lead: Juliet Chu (Note: Chu recently joined UGA and is getting her program up and running.)
Georgia Dawn
Georgia Dawn is a southern highbush with good plant vigor, an upright growth habit and narrow crown. It is early flowering (February–March) and early ripening (end of April and early May). No notable disease or other pest problems have been observed for Georgia Dawn that are not common for other varieties. This variety is very early ripening — seven to 12 days earlier than the varieties Rebel and Star in South Georgia and more than two weeks earlier than Emerald. It should be grown with overhead sprinkler frost protection for more reliable production. Georgia Dawn has medium to large berries with good flavor. It has good fruit scar and firmness. Yield estimates are typically as good as for Star and Emerald, although usually somewhat less than the high-yielding Rebel.
Suziblue
Suziblue is an early-season southern highbush blueberry that flowers and ripens about the same time as Star and one week later than Rebel. They are vigorous, precocious and have a semi-spreading bush habit with a medium crown. Leafing has been very good, even following mild winters. Plants can hold older leaves through the winter in South Georgia.
Suziblue is suggested as a main-season southern highbush variety where firm, large fruit is desired. Its berries are similar in appearance to Star and Rebel fruit, but Suziblue has better berry firmness, size and overall superior cropping than Star and larger berry size and better overall flavor than Rebel.
Suziblue may be a candidate for machine harvesting as berries generally hold firmness well. However, its tight clusters likely require hand harvesting during first harvests. Plants of Suziblue are self-fertile, but using a companion variety to enhance pollination and berry size is recommended. Rebel is suggested as a companion.
Titan
Titan is a rabbiteye variety that was released for commercial use as well as you-pick and homeowner markets. The plant has a high degree of vigor and is not majorly affected by blueberry pests or diseases. Plants are upright, and crowns are narrow. Plants have responded well to pruning and hedging, reinvigorating easily with new healthy fruiting wood. This variety should be suitable for machine harvesting.
Titan berry color and flavor are good, and dry scars contribute to good shelf life. Berries are very large, often exceeding 3 grams per berry, which is larger than any rabbiteye released to date. Fruit is also very firm and hangs well on the plant when ripe. The ability to hang well allows for even greater berry sizes to be achieved as berry size continues to increase after fruit turn blue. Titan is recommended where rabbiteye blueberries are grown successfully as a commercial, homeowner and you-pick variety.
The estimated chill requirement of Titan is 500 to 550 hours. It should be noted that Titan can have significant fruit cracking under wet conditions during ripening. This splitting is a physiological phenomenon, not completely understood, that happens periodically after heavy rains that occur while the fruit is ripening. The variety should be planted with other rabbiteye blueberries for cross pollination. Vernon is a recommended companion variety.
N.C. State University/Breeding Team Lead: Hudson Ashrafi
Rowan
Rowan(NC3104) is a new southern highbush blueberry cultivar from the NC State University blueberry program. It is a distinct blueberry variety with a combination of desirable and distinctive features. Rowan is a standout blueberry variety that excels in early to mid-season ripening, positioning itself advantageously when prices are still high. In North Carolina, it matures after Star and O’Neal but before Legacy. Rowan offers consistent yields of medium-sized fruit that fit well into clamshell packages and are suitable for mechanical harvest.
The berries are noted for their very good color, quality, aroma and firmness and boast excellent post-harvest shelf life. The plant itself is highly desirable for its very upright growth habit. Additionally, Rowan has demonstrated remarkable resilience, with its flowers withstanding extended subzero temperatures during cold winter spells. Rowan is suitable for planting in USDA Cold Hardiness Zones 7a–9.
Pinnacle
Pinnacle (US 508) is a distinct southern highbush blueberry cultivar jointly released by NC State University and the U.S. Department of Agriculture. It has a combination of outstanding characteristics for a commercial variety. This early-season blueberry variety has advantageous timing because it ripens when prices are at their peak.
Pinnacle delivers consistently high yields of large-sized fruit, with a significant percentage falling into very large diameter categories, ideal for premium market outlets. The fruit has exceptional color and quality with outstanding firmness. It also boasts an excellent postharvest shelf life, ensuring that the berries remain fresh and appealing for an extended period.
Wayne, include one image per variety and use variety name as cutline.