Transcript Blueberry Varieties for Florida

Cultivar Traits and Characteristics for
Mechanical Harvest for Fresh Markets and
Progress in Southern Highbush Breeding
James Olmstead
In-Service Training – May 13, 2014
Estimated Net Return ($/plant)
Kim Morgan – Va. Tech. Univ.
Machine Harvest for Fresh Market (MFF)
• MFF is not necessarily a new idea
• Probably more happening than we know
about
• Fresh or Process? Does it matter?
• What can we learn from current cultivars
that don’t work well?
• Early ripening, ≈9 days
before ‘Star’
• Vigorous, upright growth
habit, excellent field survival
• Darker berry color, lower
firmness
• Harvest frequently or
packing and postharvest
problems – wet scar
• Low chill requirement
• High yield potential
• Large fruit size, good
quality
• Tight clusters
• Vigorous, spreading bush
• Long harvest period
Some Trait Priorities Don’t Change
• High yield
• Maturity season
• Disease tolerance
• Fruit quality
•
•
•
•
•
Small, dry stem scar
Large size
Blue color
High firmness / crisp
Good sugar/acid ratio
Architecture
• Good anchorage,
upright, narrow base,
not too dense
Architecture
• Sparkleberry (V. arboreum) introgression
30
F1 = 1.14
Southern Belle = 1.34
Frequency
25
20
15
10
5
0
0 0.25 0.5 0.75 1 1.25 1.5 1.75 2 2.25 2.5 2.75 3 3.25 3.5 3.75 4 4.25 4.5
Bin
H.P. Rodriguez-Armenta – UF
Architecture
• Must consider harvester technology
• Often horticultural manipulations
(pruning, training, trellis, etc.) can be
effectively utilized
Harvest Timing
• Even, condensed
maturity period
• Fruit holding ability
on bush
Harvest Timing
Total pounds/week for 5 bushes
(3-yr old planting)
Week of Year
FL06-377
FL05-619
Jewel
5
0.60
0.00
0.00
6
0.00
0.00
0.00
7
0.24
0.00
0.00
8
0.18
0.00
0.00
9
0.00
0.00
0.00
10
0.73
0.01
0.00
11
0.55
0.01
0.00
12
1.10
0.09
0.00
13
0.75
0.20
0.00
14
0.86
1.10
1.14
15
0.96
1.71
1.69
16
0.54
1.59
3.34
17
0.69
1.29
0.90
18
0.84
2.31
1.74
19
0.28
0.68
0.18
Total (Pound/bush)
8.32
8.99
8.99
Pound/acre (1800 plants) 14,900
16,100
16,100
Clusters
Emerald
Meadowlark
• Loose clusters are desirable
• Initial hand harvest will break up clusters
for later machine harvest
Detachment
• Low detachment force for mature blue fruit
Scar
• Small, dry stem scar
Rachel Itle – UF
Stems
• No stem retention
• Process lines have equipment for
de-stemming
Color
• Full color – no green or red on stem end
• Heavy wax or bloom
Firmness
• High firmness
• Crisp fruit
Crisp Blueberry Texture
• Very firm, crunchy texture in select SHB
cultivars (Indigocrisp, Bluecrisp, Sweetcrisp,
Reveille, Dolores)
– Holding ability on bush
– Reduced bruising during machine harvest (Takeda
et al., 2013)
– Increased postharvest longevity (Mehra et al.,
2013)
Texture Evaluations
Blaker et al., 2014
Segregation for Crisp Texture
% Seedlings in F 1 Population
40
35
Sweetcrisp x FL 02-22
FL 98-325 x FL 02-22
FL 03-161 x FL 98-325
FL 98-325 x Sweetcrisp
FL 98-325 x FL 97-136
30
25
20
15
10
5
0
1
2
3
4
5
6
Mean Sensory Score
Kendra Blaker – UF
7
8
9
Trialing
MFF Comparison
Jeff Williamson – UF
MFF Comparison
• 200 crisp selections identified for trialing in
Florida and Georgia
• 100 MFF candidates identified and
segregated by chill requirement. Trials in
NC, GA, and FL
Breeding for MFF
• Interdisciplinary team required
• Variation available for many important
machine harvest traits
• Can we make adequate breeding progress
by only machine harvesting at late stages
of selection?
• The best picking strategy may be a
combined hand harvest/machine harvest if
labor is available.
Dr. Jim Olmstead
UF-IFAS Horticultural Sciences Dept.
2211 Fifield Hall
Gainesville, FL 32611
(352) 273-4837
http://www.hos.ufl.edu/faculty/jwolmstead