Seed Set and Berry Development in Commercially-Grown Blueberry Cultivars, Poster Board #288

The relationship between seed number and berry weight was evaluated for ten highbush blueberry cultivars (Duke, Liberty, Bluecrop, Bluejay, Legacy, Draper, Reka, Aurora, Ozarkblue, and Bluegold) throughout their respective fruiting seasons in 2009 and 2010. In each cultivar, fruit were harvested weekly, from which 10-berry samples were selected for each of three berry size categories (smallest, medium and largest diameter fruit for the respective cultivar). Seeds were separated from fruit by smashing and decanting fruit pulp by hand. Air dried seeds retained by a 0.57 mm wire mesh screen were counted as viable seed, and weights of viable and unviable seed recorded. There was a positive linear relationship between the number of viable seeds/berry and berry weight in all cultivars except ‘Draper’. Some cultivars with longer fruiting seasons (‘Duke’, ‘Liberty’, ‘Legacy’, ‘Aurora’ and ‘Ozarkblue’ in 2009; ‘Aurora’ and ‘Ozarkblue’ in 2010) tended to have more seeds/berry in early-harvested fruit than in late-harvested fruit within berries of a similar weight. ‘Aurora’ ‘Bluegold’ and ‘Liberty’ produced small, but commercially acceptable fruit, with as few as 1 seed/berry in 2009. In contrast, ‘Bluejay’ and ‘Bluecrop’ and had at no fewer than 32 or 43 seeds/berry, respectively, in 2010. The highest mean number of viable seeds/berry was recorded in ‘Bluecrop’ in 2010 (65 seeds) and the lowest in ‘Bluegold’ and ‘Liberty’ in 2009 (15 and 16 seeds/berry, respectively).