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Title: "HANNAH'S CHOICE" HIGHBUSH BLUEBERRY

Author
item Ehlenfeldt, Mark
item STRETCH, ALLAN - RETIRED USDA/ARS
item YORSA, NICHOLI - RUTGERS
item DRAPER, ARLEN - RETIRED USDA/ARS

Submitted to: HortScience
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 1/23/2005
Publication Date: 8/1/2005
Citation: Ehlenfeldt, M.K., Stretch, A.W., Yorsa, N., Draper, A.D. 2005. "hannah's choice" highbush blueberry. HortScience. 40:1558-1560.

Interpretive Summary: The blueberry industry needs new cultivars that are early-ripening and have improved fruit quality. 'Hannah's Choice' is an early-ripening highbush blueberry (Vaccinium corymbosum L.) that was developed by the cooperative breeding program of the Agricultural Research Service of the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) and the New Jersey Agricultural Experiment Station (NJAES) that represents an improvement in sweetness, firmness, and flavor over currently grown early cultivars. 'Hannah's Choice' was released as a cultivar with improved sweetness, firmness, and flavor, and competitive early season yields. This cultivar will be of interest to blueberry growers interested in high quality fruit production

Technical Abstract: 'Hannah's Choice' is an early-ripening tetraploid highbush blueberry (Vaccinium corymbosum L.) that was developed by the cooperative breeding program of the Agricultural Research Service of the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) and the New Jersey Agricultural Experiment Station (NJAES). It represents an improvement in sweetness, firmness, and flavor over currently grown early cultivars. Evaluation of 'Hannah's Choice' plants in a replicated trial indicated that its most impressive traits are early ripening, medium- to large-sized fruit, excellent firmness, high levels of soluble solids, and excellent flavor with pleasant peach overtones. Its fruit are medium to light blue, with good scars, and excellent firmness. Its high levels of soluble solids represent an approximately 20% relative increase over the average values for 'Duke', and its firmness represents an approximate 7% relative increase over 'Duke'. Studies in New Jersey have shown that it is relatively susceptible to mummy berry blight caused by the fungus Monilinia vaccinii-corymbosi, and has average resistance to the secondary, fruit-infection stage (unpublished data). Recent studies of anthracnose fruit-rot resistance have shown it to be in the top 25% of 100 cultivars tested, and to have better resistance than 'Duke'.