Source: UNIVERSITY OF GEORGIA submitted to NRP
INITIATIVE TO IMPROVE BLUEBERRY PRODUCTION EFFICIENCY AND FRUIT QUALITY
Sponsoring Institution
National Institute of Food and Agriculture
Project Status
COMPLETE
Funding Source
SPECIAL GRANT
Reporting Frequency
Annual
Accession No.
0214776
Grant No.
2008-34611-19375
Cumulative Award Amt.
(N/A)
Proposal No.
2008-03364
Multistate No.
(N/A)
Project Start Date
Aug 15, 2008
Project End Date
Aug 14, 2010
Grant Year
2008
Program Code
[CC-G]- Initiative to Improve Blueberry Production and Efficiency, GA
Recipient Organization
UNIVERSITY OF GEORGIA
200 D.W. BROOKS DR
ATHENS,GA 30602-5016
Performing Department
HORTICULTURE
Non Technical Summary
Blueberries have become an important alternative crop for many farmers in south Georgia. In the past decade, Georgia blueberry acreage has increased from 3500 acres to well over 10,000 acres, with an annual farm gate receipt value approaching $100 million. Forecasts indicate Georgia blueberry acreage is expected to continue increasing in the next 5 to 10 years. While blueberries have been a bright spot in Georgia's agricultural sect, growers are facing many challenges. Many of the older orchards are declining in production and consist of antiquated varieties. Newer orchards have challenging issues with regards to rapid establishment. In the past, growers could expect to wait up to 5 years for an orchard to reach commercial production levels. However, in today's market, growers are challenged to achieve meaningful production in 3 years or less. Some of the market windows for Georgia growers currently yield high prices, however, these prices are expected to lower as production increases and growers will need to improve overall production efficiency to remain economically viable. Finally, consumers are currently highly attracted to blueberries due to their many health benefits which have added to the need for increased production. However, to keep consumers interested in the commodity for years to come, high quality fruit needs to be made available, as consumers are becoming increasingly discerning with respect to produce quality. Given the challenges listed above, research and research facilities are needed to keep Georgia blueberry growers, old and new, at the forefront of competitiveness. Projects aimed at developing new cultivars and management practices that increase production efficiency and improve quality of fruit delivered to consumers are planned. Some key areas that will be addressed are: 1) development of mechanical harvested blueberry cultivars to reduce hand-labor needs; 2) development of precocious varieties and production systems that achieve meaningful commercial production in 3 years or less; 3) development of cultivars and production systems that rely less on costly inputs such as frost protection and soil amendments; 4) improvement of fruit quality through new cultivars and development of sound pre- and post-harvest management practices. This initiative will be carried out at the UGA Blueberry Research Farms located near Tifton and Griffin, Georgia. In addition, on-farm trials and demonstrations will be conducted with cooperators in south Georgia. Engagement of the Georgia blueberry industry in the project will yield timely results with the most immediate impact. Growers will readily experience first-hand research results through both UGA Research Farm Field days and on-farm demonstrations.
Animal Health Component
60%
Research Effort Categories
Basic
20%
Applied
60%
Developmental
20%
Classification

Knowledge Area (KA)Subject of Investigation (SOI)Field of Science (FOS)Percent
2041120102050%
2011120108040%
5031120102010%
Knowledge Area
204 - Plant Product Quality and Utility (Preharvest); 201 - Plant Genome, Genetics, and Genetic Mechanisms; 503 - Quality Maintenance in Storing and Marketing Food Products;

Subject Of Investigation
1120 - Blueberry;

Field Of Science
1080 - Genetics; 1020 - Physiology;
Goals / Objectives
Blueberries have become an important alternative crop in south Georgia. In the past decade, Georgia blueberry acreage has increased from 3500 acres to well over 10,000 acres, with a value soon expected to approach $100 million. Blueberry acreage is expected to continue increasing in the next 5 to 10 years, but, growers are facing many challenges. Older orchards are declining in production and consist of antiquated varieties. Newer orchards have challenging issues with regards to rapid establishment. Some of the market windows for Georgia growers currently yield high prices, however, these prices are expected to lower as production increases and growers will need to improve production efficiency to remain economically viable. High quality fruit needs to be made available, as consumers are becoming increasingly discerning with respect to quality. Research is needed to keep Georgia growers at the forefront of competitiveness. Projects aimed at developing new cultivars and management practices that increase production efficiency and improve quality of fruit delivered to consumers are planned. Specific goals of this project are: 1) development of large fruited rabbiteye cultivars; 2) development of mechanically harvested cultivars; 3) development of late flowering, early ripening southern highbush cultivars; 4) development of vigorous southern highbush cultivars with a wider range of soil adaptability, 5) development of high quality fruit with regards to flavor and storage/shipping. This initiative will help Georgia blueberry growers to improve their production efficiency and quality of product delivered to consumers, which will enhance long-term economic viability of the industry.
Project Methods
This initiative will be carried out at the UGA Blueberry Research Farms located near Tifton and Griffin, Georgia. Field experiments aimed at each objective will be initiated and carried out in replicated plots at the UGA Experiment Station Farms. Detailed observations and ratings of flowering dates, ripening dates, berry size, and berry firmness will be made for various blueberry selections and standard cultivars over the course of the growing season. In some test plots, blueberries will be harvested with a mechanical harvester to determine suitability of the harvest method. In addition, on-farm trials and demonstrations will be conducted with cooperators in south Georgia. Engagement of the Georgia blueberry industry in the project will yield timely results with the most immediate impact. Growers will readily experience first-hand research results through both UGA Research Farm Field days and on-farm demonstrations. In addition to field experiments, laboratory studies related to fruit sizing, firmness, and post-harvest fruit quality will be conducted in facilities in Tifton, Griffin and Athens, Ga.

Progress 08/15/08 to 08/14/10

Outputs
OUTPUTS: Funds for this project were allocated for in 2008 and an extension for 2009 was given. This allowed new research on blueberry breeding, selection, and evaluation to begin, along with research concerning fruit sizing and quality. Results from these investigations will help improve cultivar development and harvesting methods, which will in turn improve growers' production efficiency. A major effort for this overall project is the development of new blueberry varieties. Data collection aimed at this objective included taking comprehensive flowering notes, cropping notes and fruit characteristic evaluations for a number of new selections of rabbiteye and southern highbush blueberries that have been obtained from crosses made at UGA in the past few years. These selections, as well as numerous cultivar standards, were grown at UGA Research Farm test sites and on farms with key grower-cooperators. Engagement of growers in the project has helped to gain valuable insights from their observations concerning the new blueberry selections. They experienced first-hand research results through both UGA Research Farm Field days and on-farm demonstrations. Additionally, presentations to growers, Ag Extension Agents, and regional scientific personnel allowed for interaction and feedback on project progress and future breeding and research goals. PARTICIPANTS: PI NeSmith conducted the variety development research, including conducting UGA Research farm trials and on-farm trials with growers. PI NeSmith made more than 12 on-site visits with grower-collaborators each year to evaluate test plots on their farms and to gather input from the growers about performance of new blueberry selections. PI NeSmith also cooperated in plant propagation and establishment trials. Co-PI MacClean conducted field and laboratory postharvest quality improvement research. Co-PI Malladi made field and laboratory evaluations concerning fruit sizing variables for a number of selections and initiated fruit detachment research. TARGET AUDIENCES: Target audiences for this project include commercial blueberry growers in Georgia and across the southeastern US. A field day was held at the UGA Blueberry Research Farm which was attended by a number of growers from Georgia, Florida, and North Carolina. The growers were shown demonstration plots of new blueberry selections and were allowed to comment on the potential of the selections as new varieties. Also, presentations at the Annual Georgia Fruit and Vegetable Grower's meeting were disseminated to more than 200 growers from across the Southeast. PROJECT MODIFICATIONS: Nothing significant to report during this reporting period.

Impacts
Funds received from this Blueberry Initiative have facilitated both personnel and equipment enhancements to our program that expedited our abilities to provide growers with the newest technologies and information possible. One impact area for the project was the release of a new blueberry variety, Suziblue, and further demonstrations of the recently released varieties Rebel and Camellia. These newest blueberry varieties have gained rapid popularity with growers through our demonstration trials. Rebel has especially been in high demand for its early crop as demonstrated in trials the past 2 years. Nursery orders for Rebel have increased almost beyond ability to fill orders. Camellia has gained popularity through grower trials as a late season, high quality southern highbush to bridge the season between highbush and rabbiteye varieties. Growers have needed such a variety to fill this market gap. Suziblue is the newest release, and all available plants this past year were bought up from nurseries, and new orders have increased. Suziblue has shown very good yields in our demonstration plots, often exceeding current industry standards by 25%. These new varieties collectively are improving grower production efficiency. Other impact areas include results from basic studies on blueberry fruit size regulation and fruit detachment. Results from these physiological studies have shown considerable variation among existing blueberry germplasm in these traits. The identification of selections with a more favorable degree of the traits (i.e, large berry size) has helped to direct the blueberry breeding program in selecting the most promising parents for crosses. In another impact area, preliminary research with chemical harvesting aides indicated little advantage from using some currently marketed products. These findings suggest that in order to improve blueberry harvest quality during machine harvesting likely new germplasm development is the key. We have conducted fruit firmness screening with many blueberry selections and are moving forward with test trials with those selections that appear most likely suitable for machine harvesting. Also, we are using the more firm selections identified in our breeding program. Finally, we have been working to enhance blueberry propagation and establishment utilizing select fungicidal and growth enhancing products. We have identified product combinations that indeed improve overall nursery product quality and increase uniformity and speed of plant establishment.

Publications

  • NeSmith, D.S. 2010. Suziblue southern highbush blueberry. HortScience 45: 142-143.
  • Tertuliano, M., G. Krewer, O. Liburd, P. Andersen, G. Fonsah, S. NeSmith, and J.E. Smith. 2008. Blueberry leaf beetle control in organic systems. pp. 20-21, Georgia Fruit & Veg. Conf. Proceedings, Savannah, Ga., Jan. 11-13, 2008.
  • Haralson, J.C., P.M. Brannen, H. Scherm, and D.S. NeSmith. 2008. Evaluation of fungicides for the control of Cylindrocladium root rot in blueberry cuttings, 2007. Plant Disease Management Reports 2: SMF038.
  • NeSmith, D.S. 2009. Blueberry cultivar development at the University of Georgia. Acta Hort. 810: 79-86.
  • Haralson, J.C., P.M. Brannen, S. Scherm, and D.S. NeSmith. 2009. Evaluation of fungicides for the control of Cylindrocladium root rot in blueberry cuttings, 2008. Plant Disease Management Reports 3:SMF039.
  • Haralson, J.C., P.M. Brannen, S. Scherm, and D.S. NeSmith. 2009. Evaluation of fungicides for the control of Rhizoctonia root rot in blueberry cuttings, 2008. Plant Disease Management Reports 3:SMF038.
  • Malladi, A. and D.S. NeSmith. 2009. Evaluation of rabbiteye blueberry cultivars and selections for fruit abscission characteristics. Southern Region Small Fruit Consortium Progress Report.
  • NeSmith, D.S. 2008. A summary of current and past blueberry cultivars grown in Georgia. pp. 53-64, Palestras e Resumos, IV Simposio Nacional do Morango, Pelotas, RS, Brasil. Aug 13-14, 2008.
  • Brannen, P.M., P. Harmon, and D.S. NeSmith. 2009. Utility of phosphonate fungicides for management of phytopthora root rot of blueberry. Acta Hort. 810: 331-340.
  • NeSmith, D.S. 2008. Rebel southern highbush blueberry. HortScience 43: 1592-1593.
  • NeSmith, D.S. 2008. Effects of timing of CPPU applications on rabbiteye blueberries. HortScience 43: 1446-1448.
  • Nunez Barrios, A., E. Sanchez Chavez, J. Ruiz Vega, A. C. Gonzalez Franco, D.S. NeSmith. 2008. Postharvest quality of blueberry cultivars (Vaccinium sp.) as affected by prestorage time and temperatures. Agric. Tecnicia en Mexico 34: 453-457.
  • NeSmith, D.S. 2009. Some comments on UGA rabbiteye blueberry varieties following 2009. Dixie Blueberry News 9: 11.
  • NeSmith, D.S.. 2009. UGA Blueberry Field Day. Ga. Fruit & Veg. Growers News 14: 5.
  • NeSmith, D.S. 2009. Blueberry cultivar development at the University of Georgia. A progress report for 2009. Posted at www.smallfruits.org/Blueberries/production/alap09Report.pdf .
  • NeSmith, D.S. 2009. Blueberry variety releases from the University of Georgia. Posted at http://www.smallfruits.org/Blueberries/production/UGABlueberryVarieti esandpicturesUpdated2009.pdf .


Progress 08/15/08 to 08/14/09

Outputs
OUTPUTS: Funds for this project were allocated for the first time in 2008; this allowed new research on fruit sizing and quality to begin. Data from these new studies will help improve cultivar development and harvesting methods, which will in turn improve growers' production efficiency. A major effort for this overall project is research aimed at the development of new blueberry varieties. Data collection aimed at this objective included taking comprehensive flowering notes, cropping notes and fruit characteristic evaluations for a number of new selections of rabbiteye and southern highbush blueberries that have been obtained from crosses made at UGA in the past few years. These selections, as well as numerous cultivar standards, were grown at UGA Research Farm test sites. Ratings were also made for several selections established at grower-cooperator on-farm trials. Engagement of growers in the project is helping to yield timely results with the most immediate impact. They are experiencing first-hand research results through both UGA Research Farm Field days and on-farm demonstrations. Funds received from this Blueberry Initiative have facilitated both personnel and equipment enhancements to our program that is expediting our abilities to provide growers with the newest technologies and information possible. PARTICIPANTS: PI NeSmith conducted the variety development research, including conducting UGA Research farm trials and on-farm trials with growers. PI NeSmith made more than 12 on-site visits with grower-collaborators to evaluate test plots on their farms and to gather input from the growers about performance of new blueberry selections. Co-PI MacClean conducted some field and laboratory post-harvest quality improvement research. Co-PI Malladi made field and laboratory evaluations concerning fruit sizing variables for a number of selections and he initiated fruit detachment research. TARGET AUDIENCES: Target audiences for this project include commercial blueberry growers in Georgia and across the southeastern US. A field day was held at the UGA Blueberry Research Farm which was attended by a number of growers from Georgia, Florida, and North Carolina. The growers were shown demonstration plots of new blueberry selections and were allowed to comment on the potential of the selections as new varieties. PROJECT MODIFICATIONS: Nothing significant to report during this reporting period.

Impacts
A highlight for the project for 2008 was the immediate release of a new southern highbush blueberry cultivar. This new early ripening variety, named Suziblue, has been tested and shown to increase yields by an average of 25% compared to the current industry standards. Additionally, its improved berry quality is expected to garner greater demand from marketers for the fresh blueberry crop. The overall improvement of fruit quality for Southeastern blueberry growers should lead to sustainable markets for their production. In addition to this new variety, other selections were identified for possible release as varieties in the near future. Some of the new selections appear to be machine harvestable, which will be a great advancement for the southern highbush blueberry industry. Also, some very large fruited rabbiteye selections have been identified which should improve consumer appeal of this blueberry species.

Publications

  • NeSmith, D.S. 2008. Rebel southern highbush blueberry. HortScience 43: 1592-1593.
  • NeSmith, D.S. 2008. Effects of timing of CPPU applications on rabbiteye blueberries. HortScience 43: 1446-1448.
  • NeSmith, D.S. 2008. Perfect weather brings out record attendance at 2008 UGA blueberry field day. Dixie Blueberry News 8: 5-7.
  • NeSmith, D.S.. 2009. UGA Blueberry Field Day. Ga. Fruit & Veg. Growers News 14: 5.