2014 ASHS Annual Conference

Blueberry (Vacciniumsp.) fruit is a rich source of chlorogenic acid (CA), among other polyphenolics, which have been reported to contribute to human health maintenance and chronic disease prevention.  This study was designed to examine variation in CA among a wide range of blueberry genotypes with various background species that contributed to the current commercial cultivars.  The genotypes included southern highbush and rabbiteye blueberry commercial cultivars, blueberry breeding selections, and blueberry breeding populations developed through the NC State University blueberry breeding program. Fully ripe fruit was evaluated for CA concentration in 2010 and 2011 at Salisbury, NC. CA concentration ranged from 30 – 72 mg/100g and 46 - 121 mg/100 g (frozen fruit) in the southern highbush (4x) and rabbiteye (6x) blueberry commercial cultivars, respectively. In the breeding selections (4x), which comprised an expanded gene pool, the CA ranged from 34-116 mg/100 g. Further gene pool expansion associated with the establishment of the breeding populations (4x), resulted in a significant increase in CA concentration (50-143 mg/ 100 g) compared to current commercial cultivars (4x). The large variation in CA accumulation detected in this study indicates that significant genetic variation for CA exists among blueberry species and can be successfully utilized in breeding programs to aid in developing CA-enhanced blueberry varieties.