Plants – Fruit – Blueberry
Plant Patent
2001-10-18
2003-03-25
Campell, Bruce R. (Department: 1661)
Plants
Fruit
Blueberry
Plant Patent
active
PP013683
ABSTRACT:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
None.
STATEMENT AS TO RIGHTS TO INVENTIONS MADE UNDER FEDERALLY-SPONSORED RESEARCH
None.
LATIN NAME OF THE GENUS AND SPECIES OF THE PLANT CLAIMED
Vaccinium hybrid.
VARIETY DENOMINATION
Sebring.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
‘Sebring’ is a southern highbush blueberry clone with very low chilling requirement that is intended for production of fresh-market blueberries in areas where mean January temperatures average as high as 63° F. ‘Sebring’ is a complex interspecific hybrid that was produced in a recurrent selection breeding program at the University of Florida in which genes for large berry size, high berry quality, and upright growth habit from
Vaccinium corymbosum
were being combined with genes, derived from
Vaccinium darrowi
, which impart summer heat tolerance, low chilling requirement, and adaptation to other features of the Florida environment. The seed that gave rise to ‘Sebring’ was produced by hand pollination of the variety ‘Sharpblue’ (unpatented) with pollen from the variety ‘O'Neal’ (unpatented). ‘Sharpblue’, a leading southern highbush variety in Florida, has a low chilling requirement and a large, well-flavored berry, but it ripens over an extended (8-week or more) period, has a wet picking scar and skin that often tears as the berry is picked, has dried corollas that frequently adhere to the ripe berry, and is highly susceptible to blueberry rust and other fungal leaf spots. ‘O'Neal’, a variety developed at North Carolina State University, produces a large, firm berry with a good picking scar, but its chilling requirement is too high to permit commercial production in Florida. When grown in Florida, O'Neal does not produce enough new leaves in the spring to support a full crop of berries.
‘Sebring’ was selected in 1983 from a field nursery in Gainesville, Fla., based on high fruit quality, early ripening, and low chilling requirement. The seedling was propagated from softwood cuttings, and an 8-plant plot was established in the field in Gainesville, Fla. in 1987. In 1988, ‘Sebring’ was again propagated by cuttings, and 10-plant plots were established at each of three other sites in north and central Florida. From these tests it was determined that ‘Sebring’ flowers, leafs, and fruits early and reliably, even in central Florida, and even after winters when temperatures are above normal. ‘Sebring’ produces an upright bush with flowers borne on stout twigs. The berry is about the same size as the ‘Sharpblue’ berry, but the ripening period is more concentrated and berry size does not decline as much after midseason as with ‘Sharpblue’. Because the scar is somewhat better for the ‘Sebring’ berry and because the dried corollas are not retained on the ripe berry, ‘Sebring’ berries can be packed for the fresh market with less trouble than ‘Sharpblue’ berries. It is expected that the main use for ‘Sebring’ will be for early fresh-fruit production in areas with very mild winters when planted with other very low-chill varieties for cross pollination.
‘Sebring’ is stable and can be reproduced true-to-type from softwood cuttings. Several hundred plants that were propagated by cuttings at the University of Florida in Gainesville and several thousand plants propagated by cuttings at Payne Blueberry Farm, Sebring, Fla., have been grown to the age of fruiting and have shown no deviation from the characteristics of the clone.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
‘Sebring’ has the following novel combination of characteristics that set it apart from other blueberry varieties.
a. It flowers and produces an abundance of new leaves in late winter or early spring when grown where mean January temperatures are as high as 63° F.
b. It produces medium to large, firm berries with a medium to dry scar and a sweet, subacid flavor.
c. It is upright in growth habit, produces stout canes and has limited twigginess.
d. It roots readily from softwood cuttings.
e. When grown in north-central Florida (mean January temperature 56° F.) the average date of 50% flowering is February 15 and the average date of 50% ripe fruit is May 1.
f. The berry is medium to light blue in color.
g. The clone is tetraploid, with a somatic chromosome number of 48.
h. ‘Sebring’ has moderately good resistance to Phytophthora root rot and good resistance to stem blight (
Botryosphaeria dothidia
) and cane canker (
Botryosphaeria corticis
).
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