Fruit of ‘BiYu’ northern highbush blueberry.
Fruit of ‘Patriot’ northern highbush blueberry.
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‘BiYu’ (CNPVP 20200184) is a new northern highbush blueberry (Vaccinium corymbosum L.) cultivar developed by Dalian Senmao Modern Agriculture Technology Co., Ltd. (Dalian, China). ‘BiYu’ is an early-season cultivar that is well suited for the fresh-fruit market. The average fruit weight is 3.45 g (maximum, 3.75 g). It has the characteristics of high yield; large fruit size; uniform shape; a dark-blue color; a small, dry picking scar; hard firmness; thick fruit wax; high sweetness; pleasant aroma; and good flavor. The plant is vigorous and the growth habit is upright. It can be planted commercially in the high-chilling areas of north in China (600–800 h) and offers enhanced opportunities to compete in the local, early-maturing fresh market. Because of its superior fruit flavor and thick fruit wax, ‘BiYu’ is more suitable for storage and processing. Consequently, it has greater market value compared with ‘Patriot’.
‘BiYu’ was selected from seedlings produced by open pollination of ‘Patriot’. ‘Patriot’ came from a cross of ‘Earliblue’ × ‘US-3’ (Hepler and Draper 1976). ‘Earliblue’ originated from a cross of ‘Stanley’ × ‘Weymouth’ (Darrow 1952). ‘US-3’ was derived from the cross of ‘Dixi’ × ‘Michigan Lowbush 1’ (Johnston 1956). The fruit shape of ‘Patriot’ is oblate. The average fruit weight is 2.66 g (maximum, 3.32 g). It has a slightly sour taste, pleasant aroma, and good yield.
In Jul 2008, H. Wang collected open-pollinated seed of the blueberry cultivar ‘Patriot’ from Dalian Senmao Modern Agriculture Co., Ltd. In Spring 2009, 156 seedlings were grown at Dalian Senmao Modern Agriculture Co., Ltd. (Xinshi Village, Jinzhou New Zone, Dalian, China), and in Spring 2010, the seedlings were moved to the experimental station of Dalian Pushilan Agricultural Technology Co., Ltd. (Shuangsheng Village, Changling Town, Zhuanghe City, Dalian, Liaoning Province, China). In Jun 2013, G. Xu evaluated and selected three excellent cultivars from these progenies, one of which was ‘BiYu’. In 2014, the experimental planting in Jinzhou, Dalian, was started, and the comprehensive characteristics showed good performance. In Aug 2015, after tasting and testing, it was found that ‘BiYu’ had large fruit size; uniform fruit size; a small, dry picking scar; thick fruit wax; hard firmness; moderate sweetness and sour fruit; and good flavor. Through the comprehensive evaluation of the traits of excellent strains, the comprehensive traits of plant morphology, flowering and fruiting characteristics, fruit yield and fruit quality were consistent, and the specific traits were stable. In Dec 2020, this selection was certificated by the Plant Cultivar Rights Certificate of the National Forestry and Prairie Bureau and was named ‘BiYu’.
In this experiment, a single-factor randomized design was used. Ten plants of the same age with no pests and diseases were selected as test plants for both ‘BiYu’ and ‘Patriot’, and were tagged for experimental observation and evaluation. From 2022 to 2024, the plant yield, bloom, and ripening dates were observed and measured (Table 1). The plant growth habit and fruit cluster density were evaluated subjectively. The comparison showed that the yield of ‘BiYu’ was 12% greater than that of the control, ‘Patriot’. The blooming and ripening dates of ‘BiYu’ were earlier than those of ‘Patriot’. Across 2022 to 2024, the estimated date for 50% ripe fruit for ‘BiYu’ ranged from 3 to 9 Jun (average, 6 Jun). This date was 5 d earlier than the 50% ripeness date estimated for ‘Patriot’. That of ‘Patriot’ ranged from 8 to 14 Jun (average, 11 Jun). Observations indicated that both ‘BiYu’ and ‘Patriot’ were a vigorous plant with an upright growth habit. The fruit cluster density of ‘BiYu’ was denser than that of ‘Patriot’ (Figs. 1 and 2).
Citation: HortScience 60, 5; 10.21273/HORTSCI18425-24
Citation: HortScience 60, 5; 10.21273/HORTSCI18425-24
From 2020 to 2022, the numerical rating data of clonally propagated plants of ‘BiYu’ and ‘Patriot’ were collected during the fruit harvest period, including berry size, color, picking scar, firmness, soluble solids (measured in degrees Brix), and titratable acidity (measure in percent citric acid) (Table 2). Berry size was determined by weighing 30 berries of each cultivar and calculating the average berry weight. The results showed that the berries of ‘BiYu’ were larger than those of ‘Patriot’. The average berry size of ‘BiYu’ was 1.92 × 1.87 cm, the average berry weight was 3.45 g, and the maximum berry weight observed was 3.75 g. For ‘Patriot’, the average berry size was 0.87 × 0.88 cm, the average berry weight was 2.66 g, and the maximum berry weight was 3.32 g. We collected 30 berries from each cultivar and used the Royal Horticultural Society color chart to determine fruit color. Berry colors of ‘BiYu’ and ‘Patriot’ were dark blue (103-C measured value). It was observed that ‘BiYu’ berries were covered with a thinner waxy layer than ‘Patriot’ when ripe. Regarding the picking scar, ‘BiYu’ showed a better score than ‘Patriot’ (8.0 vs. 7.0). The picking scar of ‘BiYu’ was small and dry. Berry firmness measurements were performed for 30 berry samples using the GY-4 Digital Fruit Sclerometer (Edburg Instruments Corp., Zhejiang, China). Compared with ‘Patriot’ (3.6 N), ‘BiYu’ had a hard firmness (4.2 N), which is suitable for the fresh market. Soluble solids and titratable acidity were determined using a blueberry pocket Brix acidity meter (PAL-BXIACID7; Atago Corp., Tokyo, Japan). The soluble solids levels of ‘BiYu’ were greater than those of ‘Patriot’ (13.9 vs. 11.7 °Brix), and its titratable acidity was less than that of ‘Patriot’ (0.45% vs. 0.59% citric acid).
The prominent attributes of ‘BiYu’ are high plant vigor; large fruit size; small, dry picking scar; hard firmness; and a long storage period after picking. It is an early-season cultivar that matures more than 5 d earlier than ‘Patriot’. It has the characteristics of high sweetness, thick skin, pleasant aroma, and good flavor. It should be a commercially valuable cultivar for the local fresh-fruit market. ‘BiYu’ is expected to perform well in Dalian, Liaoning Province, China, and to produce good economic returns in other northern areas of China with high chilling requirement conditions (∼600–800 h). No disease symptoms were observed on ‘BiYu’ during the evaluation period. In the future, we will also study the disease resistance and climate adaptability of ‘BiYu’ in different regions.
‘BiYu’ was authorized by the National Forestry and Prairie Bureau in Dec 2020 under certificate no. 20200184. The cultivar is owned by Dalian Senmao Agricultural Technology Co., Ltd., Dalian, China. Propagation rights have been offered to Dalian Senmao Agricultural Technology Co., Ltd. Growers may request information about how to obtain propagules by contacting G. Xu at Dalian Senmao Modern Agriculture Co., Ltd., Xinshi Village, Huajia Street, Jinzhou New District, Dalian, China. The published genetic material has been deposited at Dalian Senmao Modern Agriculture Co., Ltd., and it is available for research purposes, including the development and commercialization of new cultivars.
Fruit of ‘BiYu’ northern highbush blueberry.
Fruit of ‘Patriot’ northern highbush blueberry.
Contributor Notes
This research was supported by the Liaoning Province “Ranking” Science and Technology Plan Key Projects (2022020655-JH1/109); the Dalian Science and Technology Innovation Fund Project (2023JJ12SN035); and the Dalian University Interdisciplinary Integration Project (DLUXK-2023-YB-004).
Q.A. and Y.K. are co-first authors.
This article is a contribution of the University of Dalian University and Dalian Senmao Modern Agriculture Co., Ltd.
Fruit of ‘BiYu’ northern highbush blueberry.
Fruit of ‘Patriot’ northern highbush blueberry.
