Breeding SHB Cultivars at UF-IFAS
Dr. Jim Olmstead
Horticultural Sciences Department
FBGA Fall Meeting – September 19, 2013

UF Blueberry Breeding History
• 1950s: Ralph Sharpe begins blueberry breeding at UF
• 1976: Wayne Sherman and Ralph Sharpe release ‘Sharpblue’ and ‘Flordablue’ – first southern highbush varieties
• 1990s: Plantings increased with improved varieties released by Paul Lyrene.
• 2000s: Rapid expansion of Florida industry

UF Blueberry Breeding Strategy
• Recurrent selection
• High density nursery, rapid breeding cycles
• Large parent, cross, and seedling numbers

Year
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12

• Up to 200 crosses per year
• Elite parents (cultivars and advanced selections)
• Top seedling performers
• Wild germplasm

UF Blueberry Timeline

UF Blueberry Timeline

Year
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12

UF Blueberry Timeline

Year
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12

Stage 1
Precocious
Early maturity
Large size
Good color
Good stem scar
Firmness
Flavor
2009 Stage 1

Year
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12

Stage 2
Survival
Chill adaptation
Crop potential
Early maturity
Large size
Good color
Good stem scar
Firmness
Flavor
2007 Stage 2
2008 Stage 2
2009 Stage 1

Year
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12

Stage 3 –
Cooperator trial
• 200+/year
• 15 plant plots
• Survivability
2007 Stage 3
2006 Stage 3 2009 Stage 3
2008 Stage 3

Year
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12

Advanced Selection Trial Sites
Windsor/Waldo, FL
Interlachen, FL
Citra, FL
Haines City, FL
Arcadia, FL

Stage 4 –
• 20/year
• 5-50 plant plots
• Management systems
• Yield trials
• Fruit quality measurements

Field Ratings (2011-2013)
Genotype
Proposed
Emerald
Scintilla
Star
Sweetcrisp
Farthing
Meadowlark
Primadonna
50% Bloom
Date (DOY)
44
37
31
49
41
45
34
41
Harvest
Timing
Early-mid
Mid-late
Early-mid
Mid
Late
Mid-late
Early
Early-mid
9
7
8
7
9
Surv.
Yield Leaf. Size Color Scar Firm. Flavor
7 7 7 8 6 8 9 8
8
7
8
6
8
7
9
8
7
9
7
8
8
7
6
9
6
5
9
7
4
6
6
5
7
6
7
5
6
7
6
7
7
7
8
6
7
9
9
6
7
7
9
9
8
6
6
7
8
7
8

Lab Ratings (2012)
Genotype
Avg. Berry
Wt. (g)
% Titrat.
Acidity
% Soluble
Solids
SS/TA
Ratio
Firmness
(g/mm)
Proposed 2.41 ± 0.24
0.472 ± 0.16
11.5 ± 0.92
26.6 ± 9.1
247.94 ± 16.9
Emerald 2.40 ± 0.21
1.106 ± 0.15
9.1 ± 2.10
8.6 ± 3.4
183.32 ± 17.2
Scintilla 2.68 ± 0.26
0.746 ± 0.28
12.8 ± 2.30
19.8 ± 10.1
231.97 ± 6.5
Star 2.28 ± 0.42
0.851 ± 0.23
9.8 ± 2.65
11.9 ± 4.0
217.96 ± 14.7
Sweetcrisp 2.31 ± 0.08
0.842 ± 0.07
12.5 ± 1.33
14.9 ± 1.6
262.29 ± 37.5
Farthing 2.34 ± 0.26
0.688 ± 0.13
10.5 ± 1.93
15.8 ± 4.7
230.49 ± 14.2
Meadowlark 2.67 ± 0.25
0.461 ± 0.10
11.3 ± 0.68
25.3 ± 5.6
233.06 ± 7.2

Harvest Timing/Yield
Week of Year
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
Total pounds/week for 5 bushes
(3-yr old planting)
Selection 1 Selection 2
3.00
0
1.19
0.88
0
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
3.44
4.19
19 1.38
Total (Pound/5 bush) 41.43
Pound/acre (1800 plants) 14,900
3.63
2.75
5.38
3.76
4.32
4.82
2.69
0
0
0
0
0
0.07
0.07
0.44
1.00
5.51
8.57
7.94
6.44
11.57
3.38
44.99
16,100
Jewel
0
0
0
0
0
4.50
8.69
0.88
44.91
16,100
0
0
0
0
5.69
8.45
16.7

Sensory Evaluations
Anne Plotto and Liz Baldwin – USDA

Year
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12

UF Variety Release
• Must adhere to current UF-IFAS standards
- Tested in enough replication, locations, years, etc.
- Chain of custody – developmental timeline, MTA agreements
- Foundation stock
- Plan for intellectual property protection and commercialization

UF Variety Release
• Cultivar Release Advisory Committee
- Departmental, comprised of research and
Extension
• Cultivar Release Committee
- IFAS
Once the variety is approved by these two committees it is considered “Released”.
Variety is commercially available only when licenses for propagation have been offered.

Year
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13

UF Variety Release
• After release, Florida Foundation Seed
Producers, Inc. handles commercialization for the University of Florida.
• Patent/trademark application filed
• Licensing strategy developed
• Licenses for propagation in Southeastern U.S. offered
• Upon request for other territories worldwide,
Invitation to Negotiate (ITN) is considered

Royalties
• UF – IFAS policy on release, protection and introduction of plant material:
70% of the royalty payment comes directly back to the breeding program
Royalty payments fund personnel, students, and infrastructure

Dr. Jim Olmstead
UF-IFAS Horticultural Sciences Dept.
2211 Fifield Hall
Gainesville, FL 32611
(352) 273-4837 http://www.hos.ufl.edu/faculty/jwolmstead
UF Blueberry Breeding and Genetics
David Norden – Research Coord.
Werner Collante – Lab Manager
Paul Lyrene – Professor Emeritus
Rachel Itle – Postdoctoral Assoc.
Sarah Taber – Postdoctoral Assoc.
Patty Rodriguez – PhD Student
Gerardo Nunez – PhD Student
Jessica Gilbert – PhD Student
Catherine Cellon – MS Student