DrisBlueNine

Blueberry

Variety Description

Varieties used for comparison: 'Bluecrop' and 'Elliott'

Summary: The plants of 'DrisBlueNine' have medium to strong vigour with a semi-upright growth habit whereas the plants of 'Bluecrop' have weak to medium vigour with an upright growth habit. The leaf of 'DrisBlueNine' is larger than the leaf of 'Bluecrop'. The length of the inflorescence for 'DrisBlueNine' is longer than that of both reference varieties. The fruit of 'DrisBlueNine' is very large whereas the fruit of 'Bluecrop' is medium sized and the fruit of 'Elliott' is medium to large. The sepal on the fruit of 'DrisBlueNine' is semi-erect in attitude whereas the sepal on both reference varieties is erect in attitude. The depth of the calyx basin is very shallow for 'DrisBlueNine' whereas the basin is shallow to medium depth for both reference varieties. The fruit of 'DrisBlueNine' has low to medium sweetness with medium acidity whereas the fruit of 'Elliott' has very low sweetness with high to very high acidity.

Description:

PLANT: medium to strong vigour, semi-upright growth habit, flowers and fruits on one-year-old shoots only, flowering begins late in season, fruit ripening begins mid to late season
ONE-YEAR-OLD SHOOT: green and greenish red, medium to long internode length

LEAF: medium to large length to width ratio, lanceolate shape, dark and very dark green on upper side, entire margin

COROLLA: urceolate shape
COROLLA TUBE: medium to large with ridges, absent or very weak intensity of anthocyanin colouration

FRUIT: sparse fruit cluster, medium intensity of green on unripe fruit, very large, oblate shape in longitudinal section, sepals incurving with semi-erect attitude, shallow calyx basin, medium bloom intensity, dark blue skin, firm to very firm, low to medium sweetness, medium acidity

Origin & Breeding History: 'DrisBlueNine' arose from a cross between proprietary varieties 'MS122' (female parent) and 'G292' (male parent) made in 2003 in Clackamas County, Oregon. From the resulting progeny, 'DrisBlueNine' was selected in 2004 for its large firm fruit.

Tests & Trials: The comparative trial for 'DrisBlueNine' was conducted by Expert Agriculture Team Ltd., in Chilliwack, British Columbia during the 2015 growing season. The plots were planted in the spring of 2014 in a randomized complete block design. Each variety consisted of 3 replicates with 3 plants per replicate for a total of 9 plants of each variety. Plants were spaced approximately 60 centimetres apart within rows and 3 metres between rows. Measurements were taken from 9 plants or parts of plants of each variety. Mean differences were significant at the 5% confidence probability level based on a paired Student's t-test.

Comparison tables for 'DrisBlueNine' with reference varieties 'Bluecrop' and 'Elliott'

Leaf length (cm)

Leaf width (cm)

Inflorescence length (cm)

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Blueberry: 'DrisBlueNine' (top) with reference varieties 'Bluecrop' (centre) and 'Elliott' (bottom)