Colibri Blueberry - Wholesale

Description

COLIBRI BLUEBERRY

Vaccinium corymbosum

Southern highbush type cultivar. Chilling requirements are 200 hours in the areas the plants were tested. Flowering occurs at 35% emergence of foliage and does not require dormant enhancing chemicals. Standard height at maturity is 4.5 to 5 feet. Plants are upright and slightly spreading with acceptable vigor. Ripening time is early with 50% of the fruit ripening prior to the major cultivar Star. The fruits ripen during a short period of 3 harvests. Optimum yields have not yet been determined. Flower buds are located close on the fruiting laterals than other cultivars producing a high number of flowers. Flowers contain a favorable amount of pollen and are self-pollinating.

Quality of fruits are excellent with a small dry picking scar. The fruits are fine flavor with high sweetness and very low acidity throughout every harvest. Fruit size is acceptable and medium in size weighing between 1.8 to 2.2 grams per berry. The bloom on the light blue fruit has good adherence after harvest and packaging, having an attractive appearance. Harvesting is done by hand due to the earliness of ripening for the highest grower return. Mechanical harvesting has not been tested. With the loose clusters of fruits and upright canes the plants could have potential for mechanical harvest methods.

Marketing is for the fresh fruit market because of the early fruit ripening in a high pricing market. Plants have exhibited resistance to Phytophthora cinnamomi and Botryosphaeria corticis, and Botryosphaeria dothidea in greenhouse conditions. The leaves have a small surface area and the plants exhibit resistance to dry soil conditions. Hardiness Zones 8-10.