Springhigh

U.S. Patent PP16,404
Southern Highbush Blueberry Variety

General Description

Springhigh is a early to mid-season cultivar with good yield potential.

Cultivar name: Springhigh

Recommended for Florida: no, fruit gets soft with the hot weather in Florida.

FL region best adapted to: none

Production system: deciduous

Hydrogen cyanamide: recommended; low rate

Machine Harvestability: no data yet; lower fruit firmness probably not ideal for machine harvesting

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

o North-central FL (2018-2019): 5.3 – 10.5 lbs/plant, average 7.9 lbs/plant

Known disease susceptibility: none observed to date

Known insect damage susceptibility: some susceptibility to chilli thrips injury has been observed

Fruit quality data:

o Fruit firmness: 188 - 213 g/mm, average 200 g/mm, similar to Emerald

o Berry Weight: 2.3 – 2.9 grams, average 2.5 grams, similar to Emerald

o Berry Diameter: 17.0 – 17.6 mm, average 17.3 mm, smaller than Emerald

o Brix: 8.9 – 11.8, average 10.2, lower than Emerald

o Brix/Acid Ratio: 15.8 – 37.8, average 26.7, similar to Emerald

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

o Wax/bloom: medium, similar to Emerald

o Fruit defects: none observed to date

o Flavor Score: 27.5 – reference Emerald (19.9), Kestrel (29.2)

o Aroma: none

Cultivars with overlapping timing of flowering: Kestrel, Snowchaser

Other information: Lower firmness if not harvested on time and toward the end of season. Must harvest frequently to avoid post-harvest and packing problems.

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

View Performance

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)