Blueberry: Highbush and Rabbiteye

Blueberry: Highbush and Rabbiteye
The blueberry belongs to the Ericaceae family, subfamily Vacciniaceae. Blueberries are found in many areas of the world but have gained greatest acceptance in the US and Canada.

The true blueberries belong to the ancient genus Vaccinium, subgenus Cyanococcus.

The blueberry has specific requirements regarding climate and soil.

The blueberry is a many seeded berry with small, soft seeds that allows it to be accepted by consumers who do not find the seeds objectionable.

Blueberries are a fast growing fruit crop with the fruit maturing 2 to 3 months after flowering.

After reaching its permanent color, the blueberry changes little in size and continues it improve in flavor and sweetness.

There are both wild and cultivated blueberry species. Blueberry varieties originate form the hybridization and breeding of native wild species.

Blueberry varieties are classified as early, early midseason, midseason, late season and late season according to time of maturity.

The cultivated blueberries are highbush and rabbiteye. The blueberry harvested commercially but not cultivated is the lowbush.

The highbush blueberry (Vaccinium corymbosum and Vaccinium australe) range in height from 1.5 to 7 m (5 to 23 ft) and like sunny, acidic areas with a pH between 4 and 5.

These blueberries are shallow-rooted plants and are characterized by the lack of root hairs.

These fine, fibrous roots require an open, porous soil for ease of growth. Blueberry roots are associated with mycorrhizal fungi in the soil that aid the plant in nutrient in nutrient absorption.

These blueberries usually require 6 to 8 years to reach full production. Fruit for use in the fresh market is hand-harvested while machine harvested fruit goes mainly to the processing market.

Major production areas are Michigan, New Jersey, North Carolina, Arkansas, Washington, Oregon, British Columbia, Canada, Europe, New Zealand and Australia.

The rabbiteye blueberry (Vaccinium ashei) can attain heights of approximately 10 m (33 ft) and re extremely vigorous, productive types with fruit similar to that of the highbush cultivars.

Rabbiteye are not winter hardy, but are drought tolerant. In the US, they are grown primarily in the southeastern areas.

It has a short chilling requirement, tolerant to a relative wide soil pH range and high temperatures.

Result suggest fertilization and fruit set of pollinated rabbiteye blueberries can be greatly impaired by even mild freezes (-1 to -2 degree C), whereas, appropriately timed applications of gibberallic acid can result in little reduction in fruit set even after moderate freezes ( -3 to -4 degree C) of blueberries during bloom.

This fruit can be hand or machine harvested.
Blueberry: Highbush and Rabbiteye

Blueberry in Botany

Blueberry
Linnaeus grouped all plants into the plant kingdom Plantae, to separate them from animals. The blueberry is further classed with all plant producing flowers and seeds into the division Spermatophyta. The flower has an ovary, thus placing it in the class Angiospermae, and its seedling has two leaves, putting it in the subclass Dicotyledonae.

It is member of the Ericaceae family of plants comprising mostly woody shrubs that grow naturally on acid soils. This is a large family and is found widely distributed throughout the world. It includes, among others, the rhododendrons, azaleas, heathers, heaths, and mountain laurels.

The blueberry belongs to the subfamily Vacciniaceae; the tribe Vaccinieae; the genus Vaccinium; and the subgenus Cyanococcus (from Greek cyano (‘blue”) and coccus (berry).

There are many species. The terms “genus’ (pl. genera) and “species” are most commonly used when discussing plants horticulturally. The first letter of the genus name is always capitalized; the first letter of the species name is lower case. Both are italicized or underlined. Among growers, species are rarely mentioned, but a more specific term, “cultivar,” is common.

The highbush blueberry ranges from 5 – 23 ft in height. The cultivated highbush blueberry was developed primarily from two species: V. corymbosum L. and V. australe Small, though other species have been utilized in modern breeding programs. The letter, name or abbreviated name following the species refers to the person who first named it (e.g., “L” is the abbreviation for Linnaeus).

Wild plants are distributed in sunny, acidic and swampy areas from Nova Scotia and southern Quebec west to Wisconsin and south to northern Florida and southeastern Alabama. Wild southern populations are comprised primarily of V. australe Small, whereas V. corymbosum L. occurs in more northerly areas. Because of rampant hybridization, these species have intermingled and crossed with a half dozen other economically minor species, thus giving rose to various intermediate forms.
Blueberry

Blueberries

Blueberries
The Blueberry belongs to the Ericaceae family, subfamily Vacciniaceae. Blueberries are found in many areas of the world but gained greatest acceptance in the United States and Canada, the true blueberries belong to the ancient genus Vaccinium, subgenus Cyanococcus.

The blubbery has specific requirements regarding climate and soil. The blueberry is a many seed berry with small, soft seeds that allows it to be accepted by consumers who do not find the seeds objectionable. After reaching its permanent color, the blueberry changes little in size and continues to improve in flavor and sweetness.

There are both wild and cultivated blueberry species. Blueberry varieties originate form hybridization and breeding of native wild species. Blueberry varieties are classified as early, early midseason, midseason, late midseason and late season according to time of maturity. The cultivated blueberries are highbush and rabbiteye. The blueberry harvested commercially but not cultivated in the lowbush.

The highbush blueberry (Vaccinium corymbosum and Vaccinium australe) range in height from 1.5 to 7 m (5 to 23 ft) and like sunny, acidic areas with a pH between 4 and 5. These blueberries are shallow-rooted plants and are characterized by the lack of root hairs. These fine, fibrous roots require an open, porous soil for ease of growth. Blueberry roosts are associated with mycorrhizal fungi in the soil that aid the plant in nutrient absorption. These blueberries usually require 6 to 8 years to reach full production. Fruit for use in the fresh market is hand harvested while machine harvested fruit goes mainly to the processing market. Major production areas are Michigan, New Jersey, North Carolina, Arkansas, Washington, Oregon, British Colombia, Canada, Europe, New Zealand and Australia.

The rabbiteye blueberry (Vaccinium ashei) can attain heights of approximately 10 m (33 ft) and are extremely vigorous, productive types with fruit similar to the of highbush cultivars. Rabbiteyes are not winter hardy, but are drought tolerant. In the United States they are grown primarily in the southeastern areas. It has a short of chilling requirement, tolerant to a relatively wide soil pH range and high temperature. Results suggest fertilization and fruit set of pollinated rabbiteye blueberries can greatly impaired by even mild freezes (-1 to -2 degree C), whereas, appropriately timed application of gibberallic acid can result in little reduction in fruit set even after m0derate freezers (-3 to – 4 degree C) of blueberries during bloom. This fruit can be hand or machine harvested.

The lowbush blueberries (Vaccinium angustifolium and Vaccinium myrtilloides) seldom grown higher than 0.5 (1.5 ft). They are from native stands and low growing shrubs that spread by underground stems (rhizomes). Shoots develop from buds on the rhizomes, the roots develop adventitiously and form a dense mat. These species are natives to the northeastern United States and Canada, and most of their fruit is harvested from managed, wild stands. Most lowbush blueberry stands that are commercially harvested are under a 2 year cycle of management where the fields are burned every second year to increase fruit production. One year wood from rhizomes gives a greater yield than 1 year old wood from 2 year old wood because more buds are produced. In a wild stand, 40 to 60 shoots per square meter are desirable to give a yield of approximately 1.5 tons per acre. Lowbush blueberries are insect pollinated. Because lowbush blueberries are highly self-sterile, it is essential that pollen form one plant should be available to pollinate flowers of a different genotype. Harvesting begins when 90% of the fruit is blue in color. The fruit is harvested by a specially designed rake that is combed through shrubs to separate out of the fruit. Almost all the fruit is for processing purposes.
Blueberries