Although Georgia has long been referred to as the Peach State, this fruit isn’t counted among the state’s top 10 commodities anymore. However, blueberries join that list. UGA blueberry breeder Scott NeSmith, professor emeritus in the College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences (CAES) Department of Horticulture, has released more than 40 varieties during his career at the university.
NeSmith said Georgia’s blueberry industry is flourishing: “Our industry is now at a stage where we can produce, given cooperative weather, well in excess of 150 million pounds per year in a good year. That’s a long way from the 5 to 10 million pounds of the 1990s.”
“One of the major factors we search for in breeding are plants that grow and produce in our varied environment,” NeSmith said. “Rabbiteye varieties were what gave us our start, and these were the focus of the breeding program for the first 30 to 40 years. This species is well adapted to the heat of the Southeast, and they are some of the easiest plants to grow.”
Rabbiteye bushes typically have a smaller fruit size and ripen later in the blueberry season – often well into June. This led researchers to turn their interest to another species, the southern highbush.
Source: eu.onlineathens.com
