1. New cultivars for the Northwest- Out of the research plots and into commercial fields
Chad Finn, USDA-ARS .
With input from several growers, packers and processors

2. Newer cultivars that have been commonly planted
Reka NZ Hort Research 1989
Rahi NZ Hort Research 1990
Legacy USDA-ARS, Beltsville 1993
Ozarkblue Univ. of Arkansas 1997
Draper Michigan St. Univ. 2004
Liberty Michigan St. Univ. 2004
Aurora Michigan St. Univ. 2004
Ochlockonee Univ. of Georgia 2006

3. What I’ve said
What growers/packers have found

4. ‘Draper’ Duke x G 751 Yield good off station. Ok on station
Outstanding ‘Duke’ type fruit quality
Stored 3 wks w/excellent quality
Ripens just after ‘Duke’
To watch: poorly set fruit

5. What growers/packers have found: ‘Draper’
Plant
Slower growing (But often compared to Liberty!)
Slower to reach height for machine harvest
Compact
Brushy – prune out center and low wood
More upright and vigorous than Duke
Inconsistent plant-to-plant vigor
Sensitive to management issues
Not a good “starter variety”

6. What growers/packers have found: ‘Draper’
Fruit/Yield
Very good fruit quality especially in storage.
Does not have intense flavor- Sugar and nice pop
Very firm- Can get weirdly firm- fibrous?
Picks fast- faster than Duke
Precocious- productive early
Uneven fruit size
Machines
Very low dockage <0.5%

7. What growers/packers have found: ‘Draper’
Season
Short harvest window- Very concentrated ripening
Will “slam packinghouses” as so much comes off at once

8. Reka Northern highbush Mid-season High yielding
Good fruit quality but dark fruited

9. What growers/packers have found: ‘Reka’
Plant/fruit
Grows quickly
High yields
Very precocious
Can machine early
Some redback like Bluecrop
Dark fruited very difficult fresh- Picking time critical if trying to harvest blue enough for fresh market
“Why plant a cultivar that is most likely going to be limited to processing market?”

10. ‘Legacy’ Late mid-season i.e. Berkeley Excellent fruit quality
Medium size fruit
Excellent yields
“Umbrella”/ “willowy” growth
Tendency to be evergreen can slow winter pruning

11. What growers/packers have found: ‘Legacy’
Plant
S. Highbush-Evergreen tendency makes pruning difficult (50%+ cost)
SHB- so can break bud early… concerns this last week!
Twiggy inner bush/V. dense
Grows quickly & new growth hides fruit- Pickers hate
Low N- Excellent organic potential
Fruit throughout so need to clean out middles
“Amazingly adaptable” C. Washington to C. California”
Tall, willowy

12. What growers/packers have found: ‘Legacy’
Fruit
Outstanding quality- good size, great flavor and firmness
Easy release
Poor concentration of ripe fruit
Can split w/rain
Not a great harvesting window- competing with mid season and Liberty
Gets firmer in CA

13. ‘Ozarkblue’ Very late; just before ‘Elliott’ Excellent fruit quality
Precocious
High yields
Concerns:
- Plant-to-plant variability

14. What growers/packers have found: ‘Ozarkblue’
Fruit
Fantastic quality
Occasional wet scar
Can be dark
Good yield
Won’t CA
Need to manage harvest carefully
Need 8 vs d rotation
Cannot let hang or will fall apart (soft)

15. What growers/packers have found: ‘Ozarkblue’
Plant
Vigorous and precocious
Great leaf/fruit ratio
Not a tall plant
Need to flower thing or prune hard to prevent overcropping
Tendency to show little leaf trait

16. ‘Liberty’ Brigitta Blue x Elliott Excellent fruit quality
V. good yield
Late, just before ‘Ozarkblue’
To watch: Pruning challenges

17. What growers/packers have found: ‘Liberty’
Plant
Vigorous
Good grower
Responds to nutrients
Needs lower N- Organic potential
Can outgrow top and have weak canes early
Need trellis for vigorous growth or will lodge and to keep fruit off of ground; best if get on early
Nice bush shape
A good “starter variety”

18. What growers/packers have found: ‘Liberty’
Fruit
Highest quality fruit- Better than anything new
Long loose clusters
Incredible flavor; excellent firmness
Flat shape- if running over sizer need true sizer not band sizer
Can get slight splitting
Excellent yield
Good CA storage

19. What growers/packers have found: ‘Liberty’
Season/Harvest
Releases very easily. Blues come off greens stay on. Releases too easily???
Pickers make good money
Run nice, firm, consistent
Better fruit quality than the slightly later Elliott and Aurora. Possible to hold, or delay until that season?

20. ‘Aurora’ Brigitta Blue x Elliott
Late, with or slightly later than Elliott
Similar fruit quality to Elliott
Good yields

21. What growers/packers have found: ‘Aurora’
Plant
Needs more N than Elliott
Can have squat habit early but will grow out of it and trellis can help

22. What growers/packers have found: ‘Aurora’
Fruit
Not great improvement over Elliott if growers pick the same as Elliott
No shrivel so can let hang to get better quality especially flavor
Colors before ripens
V. good firmness and can ship!
Only slight split when Elliott had major split problems
Season probably only 2-3 d later than Elliott and not in every year. Elliott ripens its crops slower

23. New rabbiteyes ‘Ochlockonee’- Promising
‘Powderblue’ still looking good
‘Maru’- Very large but ugly
‘Rahi’- Poor yield and splits
‘Onslow’- Poor quality, dark and ugly
Mississippi selections- Not happy here very low yield and poor quality
Ochlockonee
Onslow
Rahi
Maru

24. ‘Ochlockonee’ Rabbiteye from Georgia Tifblue x Menditoo Extremely late
High quality
Concerns: will see 1st good crop in 2007
=Ochlockonee

25. What growers/packers have found: ‘Ochlockonee’
Excellent quality. Best rabbiteye- Better than Elliott
Good yield
Can overcrop
Brushy and hard to pick
Tends to get less Pseudomonas than Powderblue, but when it gets it its dead vs. Powderblue tolerates
Not great shelf life
Can have poor pollination
Not as pretty as Powderblue
Less split than most

26. Rahi Rabbiteye; ‘Premier’ OP
Needs testing- Looks good in observation plots at a nursery
Late
High quality
Hope to plant this spring

27. What growers/packers have found: ‘Rahi’
Very good quality
Some split problems
Can’t get yield

28. What growers/packers have found: Rabbiteyes in general
Season is September-October: Do you really want fruit then with Argentina and Chile coming on with early southern highbush with better quality?
So many problems (“Pain in the
Split, pseudomonas, fruit quality, need to survive August heat
Better to push/hold Liberty and Aurora?
Maru

29. Newer cultivars that have been commonly planted
More being planted?
Reka Probably not much
Rahi No
Legacy Probably
Ozarkblue Probably not much
Draper Definitely
Liberty Definitely
Aurora Probably
Ochlockonee Probably

30. Thanks to Blueberry Trial Support Group!
And for their use of a harvester in the OSU and USDA-ARS plots at NWREC

31. Questions?

32. Corvallis, Oregon
Come Visit!!

33. Come Visit!! Kiger Gorge on Steens Mountain, Oregon
Alvord Desert, Oregon
Corvallis, Oregon