Draper

Blueberry

Variety Description

Varieties used for comparison: 'Duke', 'Bluecrop', 'Bluejay' and 'Toro'

Summary: ‘Draper' has a more upright growth habit with less basal shoot suckering than ‘Bluecrop'. The amount of branching in ‘Draper' is more than in ‘Bluecrop' and ‘Toro'. ‘Draper' has less pubescence on the stems than ‘Bluejay'. The leaf of ‘Draper' is narrower than ‘Bluejay' and ‘Toro'. ‘Draper' has an obtuse shaped leaf base while it is acute shaped in ‘Bluecrop' and ‘Bluejay'. The pubescence on the midvein of the leaf of ‘Draper' is less than in ‘Bluecrop' and ‘Bluejay'. ‘Draper' has a grey green upper surface leaf colour while it is dark green in ‘Duke', ‘Bluecrop' and ‘Toro' and yellow green in ‘Bluejay'. The time of bud burst in ‘Draper' is later than in ‘Duke' and ‘Bluejay'. ‘Draper' flowers later than ‘Bluecrop', ‘Bluejay' and ‘Toro'. The intensity of the anthocyanin colouration of the flower petals in ‘Draper' is stronger than in ‘Bluejay' but weaker than in ‘Toro'. ‘Draper' has a tighter fruit cluster than ‘Bluejay' but laxer than ‘Toro'. The fruit size of ‘Draper' is larger than ‘Bluejay'. The shape in longitudinal cross section of the fruit of ‘Draper' is elliptic while it is globose to elliptic for ‘Duke' and globose for ‘Bluejay'. ‘Draper' has a stronger fruit glaucosity than ‘Duke', ‘Bluejay' and ‘Toro'. The fruit scar of ‘Draper' is larger than ‘Bluejay' but smaller than ‘Bluecrop' and ‘Toro'. ‘Draper' has a medium blue colour of the skin of the fruit after removal of the bloom while it is dark blue in ‘Toro' and dark to very dark blue in ‘Bluejay'. The fruit of ‘Draper' is firmer than ‘Bluecrop', ‘Bluejay' and ‘Toro'. ‘Draper' has a higher fruit acidity than ‘Bluecrop' and ‘Toro'. The fruit of ‘Draper' ripens later than ‘Duke'.

Description:

‘Draper' is a tetraploid highbush blueberry variety with an upright to bushy growth habit, medium amount of basal suckering and a medium to large amount of branching. The stems have absent or very sparse pubescence. The fully developed leaf is medium in width with an obtuse shaped base and absent or very sparse pubescence along the midvein. The upper surface of the leaf is grey green in colour.

The time of bud burst for ‘Draper' is medium and time of flowering is late. ‘Draper' has a medium to large sized flower with moderate intensity of anthocyanin colouration of the petals. The fruit cluster is medium in tightness with a medium to large number of berries. The fruit of ‘Draper' is large in size with an elliptic shape in longitudinal cross section. The main colour of the unripened fruit is light to medium green. The mature fruit has medium to strong glaucosity, a small to medium sized scar and is medium blue in colour after removal of the bloom. The fruit is firm to very firm, medium to high in sweetness with medium acidity. The fruit of ‘Draper' ripens early to midseason.

Origin & Breeding History: ‘Draper' originated from a controlled cross made in 1990 at Beltsville, Maryland. Emasculted flowers of the highbush variety ‘Duke' were pollinated with pollen from the USDA elite selection ‘G751'. The seeds were germniated, grown in a greenhouse for one year and then field planted at Benton Harbor, Michigan, USA. ‘Draper' was selected from a group of 77 siblings in 1995. The original selection has been evaluated at Benton Harbor for 11 years.

Tests & Trials: Test and trials were conducted in Abbotsford, British Columbia during the summers of 2004 and 2005. There were 2 rows of plants 1.5 metres apart with a plant spacing within the row of 0.75 metre.