DrisBlueEighteen

Blueberry

Denomination:	'DrisBlueEighteen'
Botanical Name:	Vaccinium corymbosum
Applicant/Holder:	Driscoll's, Inc. 345 Westridge Drive Watsonville, California 95076 United States of America
Breeder:	Brian K. Caster, Driscoll's, Inc., Watsonville, United States of America Jennifer K. Izzo, Driscoll's, Inc, Watsonville, United States of America
Agent in Canada:	Lavery, De Billy, S.E.N.C.R.L. - LLP 1 Place Ville Marie, Suite 4000 Montreal, Quebec H3B 4M4 Canada Tel: 514 397-5138
Application Date:	2018-09-12
Provisional Protection::	2019-05-14
Application Number:	19-9855
Grant of Rights Date:	2022-08-09
Certificate Number:	6626
Exemption from compulsory licensing:	Yes
Expiry date for exemption from compulsory licensing:	2024-08-09
Grant of Rights Termination Date:	2042-08-09

Variety Description

Varieties used for comparison: 'Legacy' and 'DrisBlueOne'

Summary: The time of first vegetative bud burst begins mid to late season for 'DrisBlueEighteen' whereas it begins early to mid-season for the reference varieties. The one-year-old shoot of 'DrisBlueEighteen' is reddish yellow whereas the one-year-old shoot of 'Legacy' is green. Along the upper half of the one-year-old shoots, the internodes are long for 'DrisBlueEighteen' whereas the internodes are short for 'Legacy' and of medium length for 'DrisBlueOne'. The leaf of 'DrisBlueEighteen' is shorter than that of 'Legacy'. The leaf of 'DrisBlueEighteen' is lanceolate in shape whereas it is elliptic for 'DrisBlueOne'. Flowering on one-year-old shoots begins mid-season to late season for 'DrisBlueEighteen' whereas it begins very late for 'DrisBlueOne'. The inflorescence of 'DrisBlueEighteen' is longer than that of 'DrisBlueOne'. The corolla of 'DrisBlueEighteen' is cylindric in shape whereas it is globose for 'DrisBlueOne' and ovoid for 'Legacy'. 'DrisBlueEighteen' has a medium sized corolla whereas 'Legacy' has a large corolla. The conspicuousness of the ridges on the corolla tube of 'DrisBlueEighteen' is medium whereas the conspicuousness of the ridges is absent or weak for 'Legacy' and strong for 'DrisBlueOne'. 'DrisBlueEighteen' has a medium to large fruit whereas 'DrisBlueOne' has a small to medium sized fruit. In longitudinal section, the fruit of 'DrisBlueEighteen' is circular in shape whereas it is oblate for 'Legacy'. The acidity of the fruit of 'DrisBlueEighteen' is high whereas it is of medium acidity for the reference varieties.

Description:

PLANT: medium to strong vigour, upright growth habit, fruiting on one-year-old shoots only, first vegetative bud burst begins mid to late season
ONE-YEAR-OLD SHOOT: reddish yellow, long internodes along upper half

LEAF: medium length to width ratio, lanceolate shape, light green colour on upper side, absent or weak to medium glaucosity on upper side, entire margin

FLOWERING: begins mid-season to late season on one-year-old shoots
RECEPTACLE: blue
FLOWER BUD: very strong intensity of anthocyanin colouration
COROLLA: cylindric shape
COROLLA TUBE: medium size, white, absent or very weak intensity of anthocyanin colouration on outer side, medium conspicuousness of ridges

INFRUCTESCENCE: medium density
UNRIPE FRUIT: dark intensity of green colour (with bloom), ripening begins early to mid-season on one-year-old shoots
FRUIT: medium to large, circular in longitudinal section, deep calyx basin, firm, high sweetness, high acidity
FRUIT SKIN: medium to strong bloom intensity, light blue skin (after removal of bloom)
SEPALS: straight

Origin & Breeding History: 'DrisBlueEighteen' originated from a cross between the proprietary varieties '136D 2', as the female parent, and '181C 1', as the male parent, made in 2004 in Santa Cruz County, California, USA. 'DrisBlueEighteen' was selected from the resulting progeny in 2006 in Santa Cruz County, California, USA for its chilling requirement, vigour as well as fruit size, firmness, sweetness and appearance. Subsequent asexual propagation by softwood cuttings took place in Santa Cruz County, California, USA. Further testing was conducted from 2008 to 2017.

Tests & Trials: The comparative trial for 'DrisBlueEighteen' was conducted by Expert Agriculture Team Ltd., in Chilliwack, British Columbia during the 2021 growing season. One-year-old plants were transplanted in October 2019 in raised beds, covered with plastic and irrigated with drip lines. The plots were arranged in an RBC design with 4 replicates. Each replicate consisted of 3 plants for a total of 12 plants of each variety. Plants were spaced approximately 90 centimetres apart within rows with 3 metres between rows. Measurements were taken from 10 plants or parts of 10 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 'DrisBlueEighteen' with reference varieties 'Legacy' and 'DrisBlueOne'

Leaf length (cm)

	'DrisBlueEighteen'	'Legacy'	'DrisBlueOne'
mean	5.05	5.67	5.06
std. deviation	0.39	0.37	0.26

Inflorescence length (excluding peduncle) (cm)

	'DrisBlueEighteen'	'Legacy'	'DrisBlueOne'
mean	2.21	2.44	1.37
std. deviation	0.23	0.18	0.13

Click on image for larger view

Blueberry: 'DrisBlueEighteen' (left) with reference varieties 'Legacy' (centre) and 'DrisBlueOne' (right)

Click on image for larger view

Blueberry: 'DrisBlueEighteen' (centre) with reference varieties 'Legacy' (left) and 'DrisBlueOne' (right)