Blueberry-variety Reka
A blueberry plant which bears high yields of medium-large berries early in the season.
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In 1969, seed from a range of blueberry crosses was gifted to Ruakura as a result of an agreement between P. Bates (Ruakura) and A.D. Draper (USDA). The NZ objective was to identify plant material which was more suitable for local conditions. Over a thousand seedlings were initially screened in the first stage evaluation from which forty seedling types were identified as promising. Closer critical examination of these seedlings over several years, resulted in the selection of ten elite types. Seven of these ten seedlings had Earliblue, Blue-crop parentage and characteristically produced early maturing, high quality fruit. The remainder had Berkeley and Blueray parentage and typically produced later maturing fruit. These elite seedlings were planted out in 1982 in a fully replicated trial to determine their commerical usefulness, Puru, Nui and Reka, three elite Ruakura selections, are change seedlings arising from Earliblue and Bluecrop crosses. They are the product of careful screening and evaluation which has taken place over many years.
COMPARISON OF REKA AND SIMILAR CULTIVARSReka, also a seedling with Earliblue, Bluecrop parentage is probably the most outstanding selection of the three new cultivars. A consistently high yielding, early cropper, Reka is easily distinguishable from standard selections as well as from Puru and Nui. Fruit size is on average smaller than that of Puru and Nui (see Table 2), however other berry qualities such as scar size and shelf life compare favourably. As with Puru and Nui, the five standard cultivars that best compare with Reka are Earliblue, Collins, Stanley, Darrow and Bluecrop. Table 1 summarizes basic similarities and differences and the precise nature of these are included in attached tables and figures.
Physical differences such as the predominance of pubescence on stems and beneath leaves as well as the characteristic colour of mature stems and fruit enables fairly rapid field identification.
The drawings show flowers, fruit, bush habit, and fruit production data.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF REKASeedling reference: No. 17.
Flowering habit: White flower with a delicate pink blush and faint pink stripe. Elongated flower (cylindraceous). Flowering takes place in the first or second week of September, which is early to mid season in the Southern Hemisphere.
Cluster: Large clusters of 8-12 flowers.
Leaves: Deciduous shiny green leaves, average length 63 mm and average width 36 mm with slightly indented veins. Predominantly ovate with pubescence undersides.
Stems: Slightly pubescence stems which are green/pink when young and turn pink/red with age.
Fruit: Moderate to large greyish blue fruit, averagediameter being 14 mm and average weight being 1.6 g. Small dry scar. Fruit matures from mid to late November to early January which is early in the fruiting season in the Southern Hemisphere. The clusters are relatively tight, have medium aroma, average tendency of the fruit to drop when ripe and low resistance to cracking.
TABLE 1
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Similarities and differences between Reka and five
standard cultivars.
Cultivar
Similarities Differences*
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Earliblue
flavour berry colour
berry size less bush vigour
early maturing habit
less precocious
larger scar
extended harvest
spreading growth habit
Collins early maturing habit
less precocious
flavour less bush vigour
berry size larger scar
Stanley early maturing habit
less precocious
bush vigour smaller berry size
berry colour larger scar
Darrow bush vigour larger berry size
berry colour less precocious
later maturing
larger scar
berry flavour
Bluecrop
bush vigour less precocious
flavour later maturing
scar berry colour
berry size
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(*cultivar differences with respect to Reka)
TABLE 2
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Fruit production of three new early Ruckura blueberry
selections, Puru, Nui and Reka, and five standard varieties.
Yield per season (kg/bush)
Cultivar
1 2 3 Year 5 onwards (mean)
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Earliblue
0.2 0.8 1.2 2.4
Collins
0.2 0.9 1.1 1.6
Stanley
0.3 1.1 1.9 3.1
Bluecrop
0.1 0.5 1.4 5.8
Darrow 0.1 0.7 1.1 4.9
Puru 0.5 0.6 2.0 4.8
Nui 0.6 0.8 1.8 5.6
Reka 2.2 2.3 4.4 9.3
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TABLE 3
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Average berry weights of three new early Ruckura
selections, Puru, Nui, Reka and five standard varieties.
Cultivar Average berry weight (gms)
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Earliblue 1.6
Collins 1.6
Stanley 1.2
Bluecrop 1.7
Darrow 2.0
Puru 2.2
Nui 2.1
Reka 1.6
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TABLE 4
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Pre-Christmas fruit production of three new early varieties,
Puru, Nui, Reka and five standard varieties.
Yield pre-Christmas as a
Cultivar percentage of total production
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Earliblue 69
Collins 82
Stanley 67
Bluecrop 55
Darrow 28
Puru 91
Nui 88
Reka 95
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TABLE 5
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General characteristics of three new early Ruakura selections,
Puru, Nui, Reka and five standard varieties.
Bush
Growth Fruit Fruit
Cultivar
Season Habit Size Colour Scar
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Earliblue
v. moderate medium-
light blue
medium/dry
early spreading
large
Collins
early moderate medium pale blue
medium/dry
spreading
Stanley
early vigorous medium-
pale blue
medium/dry
upright small
Bluecrop
mid vigorous medium-
pale blue
small/dry
upright large
Darrow late vigorous large pale blue
medium/wet
upright
Nui v. vigorous V. large
pale blue
small/dry
early upright
Puru v. vigorous large pale blue
small/dry
early upright
Reka v. vigorous medium-
light blue
small/dry
early spreading
large
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Additional Notes
(i) Leaf measurements were taken on mature leaves and not at the time of full flowering as the leaves at this stage are still expanding.
(ii) Pubescence on lower leaf surface is confined to central leaf vein only.
(iii) Fruit diameter and weight vary within the season. Early season fruit which is produced on primary whips is larger and heavier than subsequent fruit produced on secondary and tertiary whips.
Claims
1. A new and distinct variety of blueberry, substantially as herein shown and described, characterised particularly by
- (a) a high percentage of total yield is produced early in the season,
- (b) medium-large fruit weight,
- (c) small dry scar tissue.
Type: Grant
Filed: Sep 28, 1987
Date of Patent: Mar 28, 1989
Assignee: Maftech North, Ruakura Agricultural Research Centre (Hamilton)
Inventor: Franklin H. Wood (Hamilton)
Primary Examiner: Robert E. Bagwill
Law Firm: Abelman Frayne Rezac & Schwab
Application Number: 7/102,151
International Classification: A01H 503;
