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nafex - [NAFEX] FW: New Blueberry Blooms Late, Ripens Early

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  • From: "Lon J. Rombough" <lonrom@hevanet.com>
  • To: NAFEX <nafex@lists.ibiblio.org>
  • Subject: [NAFEX] FW: New Blueberry Blooms Late, Ripens Early
  • Date: Fri, 26 Jul 2002 07:38:59 -0700

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From: ARS News Service <NewsService@ars.usda.gov>
Reply-To: ARS News Service <NewsService@ars.usda.gov>
Date: Fri, 26 Jul 2002 09:29:08 -0400
To: ARS News subscriber <lonrom@hevanet.com>
Subject: New Blueberry Blooms Late, Ripens Early

STORY LEAD:
New Blueberry Blooms Late, Ripens Early

___________________________________________

ARS News Service
Agricultural Research Service, USDA
Jim Core, (301) 504-1619, jcore@ars.usda.gov
July 26, 2002
___________________________________________

A newly released early-season blueberry cultivar from the Agricultural
Research Service and University of Georgia joint breeding program protects
itself against late freeze damage by blooming a little later, but still
delivers early fruit. It may be a few more summers before the new
cultivar, Alapaha (pronounced ah-LAH-pa-ha), is available to consumers,
but it has qualities that should make the wait worthwhile.

Alapaha ripens as early as Climax, the most popular early-season rabbiteye
variety. But Climax has been subject to moderate to severe freeze damage
during bloom for at least four of the last 10 years. Because Alapaha
blooms later than Climax, it receives up to 10 days more protection from
late freezes. Both of these cultivars ripen in late May to mid-June, a
lucrative market window for growers in the southeastern United States.

The rabbiteye blueberry is grown on more than 95 percent of the commercial
blueberry acreage in the region and is the more vigorous of the two types
of blueberries producers grow in the southeastern United States. The other
type, southern highbush, typically flowers and ripens earlier.

Alapaha was jointly released recently by the University of Georgia and
ARS' Small Fruit Research Station in Poplarville, Miss. According to
horticulturist James M. Spiers, the station's research leader, Alapaha
will be available for commercial growers and home gardens in the fall of
2003 and should be widely available in markets within a few years.

According to Spiers, Alapaha is more vigorous and grows faster than
Climax. Alapaha also produces significantly more stems after harvest that
renew the plant and develop new fruit the following year. Its berries are
medium size with excellent firmness, color, flavor and small dry scars
that help give the berries a longer shelf life.

Alapaha, named after the Alapaha River, is the first of several new
cultivars to be named after south Georgia rivers and scheduled for release
during the next five years.

ARS is the U.S. Department of Agriculture's chief scientific research
agency.

___________________________________________

* This is one of the news reports that ARS Information distributes to
subscribers on weekdays.
* Start, stop or change an e-mail subscription at
www.ars.usda.gov/is/pr/subscribe.htm
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* NewsService@ars.usda.gov | www.ars.usda.gov/is
* Phone (301) 504-1638 | fax (301) 504-1648






  • [NAFEX] FW: New Blueberry Blooms Late, Ripens Early, Lon J. Rombough, 07/26/2002

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