Emerald

U.S. Patent PP12,165
Southern Highbush Blueberry Variety

General Description

Emerald has very high yield potential for the mid season in central Florida window, vigorous growth, and large berries with good shipping qualities.

Cultivar name: Emerald (selection code FL 95-209a)

Recommended for Florida: yes

FL region best adapted to: central Florida

Production system: deciduous

Hydrogen cyanamide: recommended; a moderate to high dose can result in earlier fruit ripening.

Machine Harvestability: Possible; tight clusters may need hand picking before any machine harvesting.

Per plant yields (Density 1,452-1,742 plants/acre):

North-central FL (2015-2019): 14.6 – 16.8 lbs/plant, average 15.7 lbs/plant (mid-late season)
Central FL (2018-2020): 5.0 – 8.3 lbs/plant, average 6.6 lbs/plant (reported by grower)

Known disease susceptibility: target spot

Known insect damage susceptibility: none observed to date

Fruit quality data:

Fruit firmness: 184 – 211 g/mm, average 195 g/mm
Berry Weight: 1.8 – 2.9 grams, average 2.4 grams
Berry Diameter: 17.2 – 19.6 mm, average 18.4 mm
Brix: 9.5 – 12.7, average 11.3
Brix/Acid Ratio: 13.5 – 36.7, average 26.5
Fruit scar: normal (small and dry)
Wax/bloom: medium
Fruit defects: none observed
Flavor Score: 19.9 – reference Arcadia (21.6), Kestrel (29.0)
Aroma: none

Cultivars with overlapping timing of flowering:

North-central FL – Magnus, Optimus
Central FL – Arcadia, Chickadee, Kestrel (all in evergreen system) when Emerald with hydrogen cyanamide application blooms

Other information: vigorous bush, early bloom, long harvest period.

License availability: For a list of current nursery licensees in the USA, click here

View Pictures

View Performance

Performance 2018-2019 Season

Fruit Quality and Yield

The following plots show the most important fruit quality traits and yield, across the season.

The vertical lines in the yield plots indicate when 10%, 50% and 90% of the harvest was achieved during the season.

Dotted lines indicate the desired values for new cultivars:

Berry weight greater than 2g
Fruit Diameter greater than 14mm
Firmness higher than 150g/mm
Brix higher than 10%
TTA less than 1%
Brix/TTA higher than 14 units

Warning: Yield plot coming from harvesting of two bushes. Values may seem overestimated as all the fruit from the bush is harvested, and because this is harvest yield and no packed yield. Use this data to compare among cultivars and no to predict potential yield on your farm.

Measurements are in grams (g). To convert from grams to pounds (lb) use the following formula:

lb of fruit per bush = (g of fruit) x (0.002204)