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ARS Home » Southeast Area » Poplarville, Mississippi » Southern Horticultural Research Unit » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #215970
Title: 'Biloxi' Southern Highbush Blueberry

Author
item Spiers, James
item Stringer, Stephen
item DRAPER, ARLEN - RETIRED USDA
item GUPTON, CREIGHTON - DECEASED

Submitted to: Acta Horticulturae International Symposium on Vaccinium Culture
Publication Type: Proceedings
Publication Acceptance Date: 12/4/2000
Publication Date: 4/1/2002
Citation: Spiers, J.M., Stringer, S.J., Draper, A., Gupton, C. 2002. 'Biloxi' Southern Highbush Blueberry. 7 th Acta Horticulturae International Symposium on Vaccinium Culture, Dec. 4-9, 2002. Chillan, Chile. pp.153-155.

Interpretive Summary: 'Biloxi' is a new southern highbush blueberry cultivar develped by the United States Department of Agriculture Agricultural Reserach Service. Plants of 'Biloxi', are upright, vigorous, and productive and produce fruit with excelent quality. Fruit of 'Biloxi' ripen two to three weeks earlier than early ripening rabbiteye blueberries, providing growers with an opportunity to capitalize on higher prices for blueberries for the lucrative early fresh-berry markets.

Technical Abstract: 'Biloxi' tetraploid southern highbush blueberry is a new cultivar developed and released by the Agricultural Reseach Service of the U.S. Department of Agriculture breeding programs in Beltsville, MD, and Poplarville MS. Plants of 'Biloxi' are upright, vigorous and productive. The fruit ripens early, has medium size, with good color, firmness, stem scar, and flavor. Although 'Biloxi' is predominatly a tetrapoloid southern highbush in parentage, adaptation to the southern US environment was obatined from two diploid and one hexaploid Vaccinium species. This relatively low-chill cultivar was released in 1998 for production in the coastal plains of the Southeastern United states, and shold be planted with other southern highbush cultivars to facilitate pollination. 'Biloxi' blooms early, about the same time as 'Climaz' rabbiteye blueberry, but fruit ripening precedes the earliest ripening rabbiteye cutivars by about 14 to 21 days. Thus, while providing Southern blueberry growers with a cultivar to aid in exploiting early-fruit markets, 'Biloxi' may require protection from spring fruits.