Volume 57 Number 4 Article 22 Pages: 138-141
Year 2003 Month 10
Title: Florida 4B: Native Blueberry with Exceptional Breeding Value
Authors: A. Draper and J. Hancock
Citation
Abstract:
Genes from virtually all the native species of blueberry have been incorporated
into the northern highbush background,
but the most useful native clone of all has
been Florida 4B, a selection of diploid
Vaccinium darrowi. Florida 4B was particularly instrumental in reducing the chilling
requirement of the northern highbush, but it has also proven to transmit exceptionally high fruit quality, vigor, heat tolerance
and adaptation to mineral soils (1,3,6). To
date, its genes are in the background of 11
southern cultivars, and it shows high
promise as a northern breeding parent.
The name of the species was given by
the blueberry taxonomist, W.H. Camp to
honor George M. Darrow who first recognized it as a specific entity (2). Dr.
Darrow,
USDA-ARS small fruit breeder, and Ralph
Sharpe, University of Florida blueberry
breeder, selected Florida 4B from the wild
in Central Florida.
Dr.
Darrow related
(personal communication) that they were
driving near Tampa, Florida and saw from
the highway a vigorous and outstanding V.
darrowi plant growing in a pasture adjacent to the road.
They stopped, took cuttings and gave it the designation Florida
4B.
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