Colossus

11-35 fruit raceme fruit on leafless ste

U.S. Patent PPAF
Southern Highbush Blueberry Variety

General Description

Colossus has very large to jumbo sized fruit with very high fruit firmness. It blooms somewhat later with a short bloom-to-ripening period (fits well within the Florida market window), and has performed well in machine harvesting trials.

Cultivar name: Colossus (selection code FL11-35)

Recommended for Florida: yes

FL region best adapted to: north-central Florida (although may also do well in certain areas of central Florida with sufficient chilling)

Production system: deciduous – in trials performed somewhat better with a low dose of hydrogen cyanamide

Hydrogen cyanamide: recommended; very low doses or no application

Machine harvestability: Possible; has performed well in machine harvest trials. If needed, can be harvested by machine during April for fresh market

Per plant yields (Density 1,452-1,742 plants/acre):

o North-central FL (2018-2019): 6.5 – 12.4 lbs/plant, average 10.3 lbs/plant

o Central FL (2019): 6.1 lbs/plant

Known disease susceptibility: none observed to date

Known insect damage susceptibility: none observed to date

Fruit quality data:

o Fruit Firmness: 252 – 288 g/mm, average 268 g/mm, much higher than Emerald, provides flexibility in harvesting time

o Berry Weight: 2.4 – 4.0 grams, average 2.8 grams, larger than Emerald, similar to Magnus

o Berry Diameter: 17.9 – 23.0 mm, average 20.5 mm, larger than Emerald, similar to Endura and Patrecia

o Brix: average 10.3 – 13.3, average 12.3, higher than Emerald, similar to Optimus and Kestrel

o Brix/Acid Ratio: 14.7 – 21.8, average 17.1, similar to Arcadia

o Fruit Scar: normal (small, dry), similar to Emerald

o Wax/Bloom: medium, similar to Emerald

o Fruit Defects: none observed

o Flavor Score: 24.6 – reference Emerald (19.9), Kestrel (29.0)

o Aroma: none

Cultivars with overlapping timing of flowering: Optimus, Sentinel

Other information: concentrated ripening, good early natural leafing, harvesting should be done when desirable Brix/acid ratio is achieved. Fruit size keeps increasing on the bush.

License availability: For a list of current nursery licensees in the USA, click here.

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Performance 2018-2019 Season

Fruit Quality and Yield

The following plots show the most important fruit quality traits and yield, across the season.

The vertical lines in the yield plots indicate when 10%, 50% and 90% of the harvest was achieved during the season.

Dotted lines indicate the desired values for new cultivars:

Berry weight greater than 2g
Fruit Diameter greater than 14mm
Firmness higher than 150g/mm
Brix higher than 10%
TTA less than 1%
Brix/TTA higher than 14 units

Warning: Yield plot coming from harvesting of two bushes. Values may seem overestimated as all the fruit from the bush is harvested, and because this is harvest yield and no packed yield. Use this data to compare among cultivars and no to predict potential yield on your farm.

Measurements are in grams (g). To convert from grams to pounds (lb) use the following formula:

lb of fruit per bush = (g of fruit) x (0.002204)