DrisBlueEleven

Blueberry

Variety Description

Varieties used for comparison: 'Bluecrop' and 'Elliott'

Summary: The plants of 'DrisBlueEleven' have medium to strong vigour with a semi-upright growth habit whereas the plants of 'Bluecrop' have weak to medium vigour with an upright growth habit. The leaf of 'DrisBlueEleven' is larger than the leaf of 'Bluecrop'. The leaf of 'DrisBlueEleven' is lanceolate shaped whereas the leaf of 'Elliott' is elliptic shaped. The inflorescence of 'DrisBlueEleven' is longer than that of both reference varieties. The fruit of 'DrisBlueEleven' is large whereas the fruit of 'Bluecrop' is medium sized. The fruit of 'DrisBlueEleven' is very high in sweetness with very low acidity whereas the fruit of 'Bluecrop' is medium in sweetness with low acidity and the fruit of 'Elliott' is very low in sweetness with very high acidity.

Description:

PLANT: medium to strong vigour, semi-upright growth habit, flowers and fruits on one-year-old shoots only, flowering begins mid-season, fruit ripening begins mid to late season
ONE-YEAR-OLD SHOOT: green and greenish red, medium to long internode length

LEAF: medium to large length to width ratio, lanceolate shape, dark green on upper side, entire margin

COROLLA: urceolate shape
COROLLA TUBE: medium to large with ridges, absent or very weak intensity of anthocyanin colouration

FRUIT: medium density fruit cluster, medium intensity of green on unripe fruit, large, round and oblate shape in longitudinal section, straight sepals with erect attitude, medium depth calyx basin, medium bloom intensity, dark blue skin, medium to firm, very high sweetness, very low acidity

Origin & Breeding History: 'DrisBlueEleven' arose from a cross between proprietary varieties 'G455' (female parent) and 'MS122' (male parent) made in 2000 in Santa Cruz County, California. From the resulting progeny, 'DrisBlueEleven' was selected in 2001 for its cane renewal rate, late harvest and small and firm fruit.

Tests & Trials: The comparative trial for 'DrisBlueEleven' was conducted by Expert Agriculture Team Ltd., in Chilliwack, British Columbia during the 2015 growing season. The plots were planted in the spring of 2014 in a randomized complete block design. Each variety consisted of 3 replicates with 3 plants per replicate for a total of 9 plants of each variety. Plants were spaced approximately 60 centimetres apart within rows and 3 metres between rows. Measurements were taken from 9 plants or parts of plants of each variety. Mean differences were significant at the 5% confidence probability level based on a paired Student's t-test.

Comparison tables for 'DrisBlueEleven' with reference varieties 'Bluecrop' and 'Elliott'

Leaf length (cm)

Leaf width (cm)

Inflorescence length (cm)

Click on image for larger view

Blueberry: 'DrisBlueEleven' (left) with reference varieties 'Bluecrop' (centre) and 'Elliott' (right)