Top Shelf

Blueberry

Variety Description

Varieties used for comparison: 'Duke' and 'Draper'

Summary: The plants of 'Top Shelf' have weak to medium vigour whereas the plants of 'Duke' have strong to very strong vigour and the plants of 'Draper' have strong vigour. The plant growth habit of 'Top Shelf' is upright whereas the growth habit of 'Draper' is semi-upright. The leaf of 'Top Shelf' is smaller than the leaves of both reference varieties. The corolla tube of 'Top Shelf' is small whereas it is medium to large for 'Duke' and large for 'Draper'. Flowering on one-year-old shoots of 'Top Shelf' begins mid-season whereas flowering begins early for 'Duke'. Fruit ripening begins mid to late season for 'Top Shelf' whereas it begins very early to early for 'Duke'.

Description:

PLANT: weak to medium vigour, upright growth habit, flowers and fruits on one-year-old shoots only, flowering begins mid-season, fruit ripening begins mid to late season
ONE-YEAR-OLD SHOOT: green and reddish yellow, long internode length

LEAF: medium length to width ratio, elliptic shape, medium to dark green on upper side, entire margin

COROLLA: urceolate shape
CORROLA TUBE: small with ridges, absent or very weak intensity of anthocyanin colouration

FRUIT: sparse to medium density of fruit cluster, medium intensity of green on unripe fruit, medium to large, oblate shape in longitudinal section, sepals reflexed with erect attitude, shallow calyx basin, medium bloom intensity, dark blue skin, firm, high sweetness, low acidity

Origin & Breeding History: 'Top Shelf' arose from a cross between 'Magnolia' (female parent) and 'Draper' (male parent) made on 2004 in Lowell, Oregon. From the resulting progeny, 'Top Shelf' was selected in 2007 for its fruit size, firmness, plant growth habit, plant vigour, and ease of pruning.

Tests & Trials: The comparative trials for 'Top Shelf' were conducted by Expert Agriculture Team Ltd., in Chilliwack, British Columbia during the 2015 growing season. The plots were planted in the spring of 2014 in a randomized complete block design. Each variety consisted of 3 replicates with 3 plants per replicate for a total of 9 plants of each variety. Plants were spaced approximately 60 centimetres apart within rows and 3 metres between rows. Measurements were taken from 9 plants or parts of plants of each variety. Mean differences were significant at the 5% confidence probability level based on a paired Student's t-test.

Comparison tables for 'Top Shelf' with reference varieties 'Duke' and 'Draper'

Leaf length (cm)

Leaf width (cm)

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Blueberry: 'Top Shelf' (left) with reference varieties 'Duke' (centre) and 'Draper' (right)