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.

Fresh or Process? Does it matter? What can we learn from current cultivars that don’t work well? MFF is not necessarily a new idea Probably more happening than we know about Machine Harvest for Fresh Market (MFF)

Early ripening, ≈9 days before ‘Star’ Darker berry color, lower firmness Vigorous, upright growth habit, excellent field survival Harvest frequently or packing and postharvest problems – wet scar

Low chill requirement Vigorous, spreading bush Tight clusters High yield potential Long harvest period Large fruit size, good quality

Some Trait Priorities Don’t Change Maturity season Disease tolerance Fruit quality Small, dry stem scar Large size Blue color High firmness / crisp Good sugar/acid ratio High yield

Architecture Good anchorage, upright, narrow base, not too dense

F1 = 1.14 Architecture Sparkleberry (V. arboreum) introgression 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 YearFL06-377FL05-619Jewel Total (Pound/bush) Pound/acre (1800 plants)14,90016,100

Clusters Loose clusters are desirable Initial hand harvest will break up clusters for later machine harvest EmeraldMeadowlark

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 Kendra Blaker – UF

Trialing

MFF Comparison Jeff Williamson – UF

MFF Comparison 100 MFF candidates identified and segregated by chill requirement. Trials in NC, GA, and FL 200 crisp selections identified for trialing in Florida and Georgia

Breeding for MFF 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. Interdisciplinary team required

Dr. Jim Olmstead UF-IFAS Horticultural Sciences Dept Fifield Hall Gainesville, FL (352)