Tifblue blueberries.
- Chilling requirement: 600 hours to 700 hours.
- Bloom time: Blooms in mid to late March in Southern Mississippi and ripens from late June through July.
- Plant yield, vigor and growth habits: Tifblue plants are productive and have a vigorous upright growth habit.
- Berry qualities: Fruit size is small to medium with good color, picking scar, firmness and flavor. Berries are very tart untill fully ripe, and tent to cling to the plant untill fully ripe, facilitating both hand and mechanical harvesting.
- Harvesting techniques: Cane numbers can be excessive and frequent pruning may be required to prepare Tifblue plants for mechanical harvesting.
- Drawbacks: Tifblue was once the favored variety for the commercial rabbiteye industry because of its high yields and vigorous growth. However, newer, early ripening varieties with larger, high quality fruit that doesn’t spit during wet weather have replaced it as a commercial variety. Tifblue still remains the standard to which other varieties are compared so references to Tifblue is seen in literature and grower discussions.
- Breeding history: Released by the University of Georgia and the United States Department of Agriculture-ARS in 1955.
See also: Rabbiteye Blueberry Varieties
Reference:
Braswell, John. Establishment and Maintenance of Blueberries. 2009. Retrieved 30 April 2010.