Kawai

Blue Honeysuckle

Variety Description

Varieties used for comparison: 'Hoka' (Yezberry Sugar Pie) and 'Borealis'

Summary: The plants of 'Kawai' have medium to strong vigour whereas the plants of 'Hoka' have weak to medium vigour. The plants of 'Kawai' have an upright to spreading growth habit whereas the plants of 'Hoka' have an upright growth habit and those of 'Borealis' have a semi-upright rounded growth habit. The plants of 'Kawai' are taller than those of both reference varieties. The shoot tip of 'Kawai' has dense pubescence while the shoot tip of 'Hoka' has absent or sparse pubescence and the shoot tip of 'Borealis' has sparse pubescence. The base of the young leaf of 'Kawai' has sparse pubescence while the base of the young leaf of 'Borealis' has dense pubescence.

Description:

PLANT: medium to strong vigour, upright to spreading growth habit, medium to strong degree of branching, mid-season bud burst
ONE-YEAR OLD SHOOT: no lenticels, absent or very sparse pubescence, red brown bark with grey surface bark developing, strong development of adventitious buds
SHOOT TIP: dense pubescence, absent or weak glossiness of bark, medium to strong intensity of anthocyanin colouration

YOUNG LEAF: weak pubescence at base
LEAF BLADE: moderately elongated (length to width ratio 2:1), obtuse apex, sparse pubescence on upper side, medium to dense pubescence along midrib on lower side, light green on upper side in spring, dark green on upper side in summer
STEM-CLASPING LEAF: small

TIME OF BEGINNING OF FLOWERING: mid-season
SEPAL: medium length, narrow
FLOWER: medium to dense pubescence on corolla tube, downwards attitude, style longer than anther

TIME OF BEGINNING OF FRUIT RIPENING: mid-season
FRUIT: broad elliptic in cross-section, broad oblong in lateral view, calyx end is truncate, fruit tip absent, medium sized eye opening, surface is smooth, no tufts of hairs at apex
FRUIT SKIN: strong bloom, dark intensity of blue colour

Origin & Breeding History: 'Kawai' originated from a controlled cross conducted in Corvallis, Oregon, U.S.A. in 2006 and was bred and developed by the breeder Dr. Maxine M. Thompson. The cross was made between a female parent variety, designated '#21-78', and male parent variety 'Chito'. From the resulting progeny, 'Kawai' was selected as a single seedling in 2009 based on its plant growth habit and vigour; fruit appearance, taste, yield and early to mid-season maturity. 'Kawai' was first propagated by hardwood stem cuttings in 2009 in Corvallis, Oregon, U.S.A.

Tests & Trials: The comparative trial for 'Kawai' was conducted in the field and examined during the summer of 2018 at BioFlora Inc. in St. Thomas, Ontario. The trial included a total of 8 plants of the candidate variety, 15 plants of the reference variety 'Hoka' and 7 plants of the reference variety 'Borealis'. All plants were grown from rooted cuttings and transplanted in the field on June 9, 2016. Observations and measurements were taken from 10 plants, or parts of plants, of each variety at various times throughout the summer of 2018. All colour determinations were made using the 2007 Royal Horticultural Society (RHS) Colour Chart.

Comparison table for 'Kawai' with reference varieties 'Hoka' and 'Borealis'

Plant height (cm)

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Blue Honeysuckle: 'Kawai' (left) with reference variety 'Hoka' (right)

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Blue Honeysuckle: 'Kawai' (left) with reference variety 'Borealis' (right)