A Review for Southern Highbush Blueberry Alternative Production Systems

Abstract

Southern highbush blueberry cultivation has expanded into non-traditional growing areas worldwide due to elite cultivars and improved horticultural practices. This article presents a comprehensive review of current production systems—alternatives to traditional open field production—such as production in protected environments, high-density plantings, evergreen production, and container-based production. We discuss the advantages and disadvantages of each system and compare their differences to open field production. In addition, we provide potential solutions for some of the disadvantages. We also highlight some of the gaps existing between academic studies and production in industry, providing a guide for future academic research. All these alternative systems have shown the potential to produce high yields with high-quality berries. Alternative systems, compared to field production, require higher establishment investments and thus create an entry barrier for new producers. Nevertheless, with their advantages, alternative productions have the potential to be profitable.

Genomic prediction in an outcrossing and autotetraploid fruit crop: lessons from blueberry breeding

“…In the last stage (Stage IV), around 15-20 plants selected from Stage IIIs with consistent and outstanding performances are propagated and planted at commercial trial sites across the state of Florida. The different locations comprise two production systems according to the accumulation of chilling hours: evergreen and deciduous (Fang et al , 2020). To ensure accurate selection, phenotypic data is collected weekly and will also be used to feed our genomic prediction models.…”

“…The results confirmed the significance of the GxE effect for most of the traits (Table 3), with the plants evaluated in South-FL showing the most contrasting values. It is noteworthy that blueberry locations in South-FL are grown under an evergreen production system, under less chilling hours, and are focused on preventing defoliation during the winter months (Fang et al , 2020). On the other hand, the location in Citra, Central-FL, and North-FL regions are grown under the deciduous production system, where leaves are dropped during the winter.…”

Evaluating the Introgression of Wild Germplasm Into Autotetraploid Blueberry Breeding

“…Improvements obtained from interspecific hybridization in blueberry are not limited to the incorporation of novel traits, but also relate to the geographic expansion of the crop [3,19]. In 1948, Ralph H. Sharpe at the University of Florida developed the ground-breaking Southern Highbush Blueberry (SHB) that allowed for this expansion of blueberries into warmer climates [2].…”

“…Global blueberry production has more than tripled since 1985 [1,2]. Thus, the importance of blueberry as a crop has increased significantly [3], requiring continuous improvements to meet market needs. Breeding provides several possibilities to address market requirements [4,5].…”

“…A successful example of the use of wild species as genetic resources for blueberry breeding is the development of southern highbush blueberry (SHB) cultivars [3,4,8]. According to Sharpe [9], the three main species that were used to create the SHB germplasm were Northern highbush blueberry (V. corymbosum), Darrow's blueberry (V. darrowii), and Rabbiteye blueberry (V. virgatum).…”