As the early-season for low-chill blueberries in the Northern Hemisphere is drawing to a close, now is a great time to reflect on varietal performance over the 2025 season. We have been lucky enough to visit blueberry producers in all major growing continents of the crop in the Northern Hemisphere so far this year. During these visits, we have been very excited to witness the superb performance of our full range of low-chill blueberry genetics.
Tropical Blue: Early and efficient
Early season types include Tropical Blue and Sweet Duchess, moving into the early/mid and fully mid-season types such as Gladiator and Maverick. Each of these varieties is excelling in its window of production and particular market segment.
Tropical Blue, in many regions, is showing an unrivalled combination of early production and excellent yields of high-quality berries in the early harvest and supply windows. It is naturally very early due to both its very low-chill nature and the reduced time from flowering to fruit production. Growers in Spain, in particular, now exercise pruning and tipping techniques that concentrate the ripening of the crop. This means that a very high proportion of the berries are harvested in the first two picks and it has the other significant benefit of reducing picking costs. Both of these aspects are highly attractive as fruit can be supplied to markets when return prices to the grower are strong and at a time, in general globally, when labour costs are increasing. Plantings of the variety are predicted to appreciably increase consistently in the next few years.
Sweet Duchess: Premium quality early on
Sweet Duchess has always been characterised for its premium quality berries and this trait has once again been in evidence in the early 2025 season. Generally ripening just after Tropical Blue, Sweet Duchess has very large, firm and sweet berries. These fruits are ideal for growers that supply top-tier markets as this level of fruit quality is relatively rare so early in the supply season. The berries of Sweet Duchess have a perfect combination of sweetness and firmness and this makes the cultivar really stand out.
Gladiator: The all-round champion
The Gladiator variety can be managed for production in either the early/mid or full mid-season. This comes down to the correct employment of pruning techniques. It is not unusual to see growers using different methods in order to prolong the harvest season of the variety. We have heard Gladiator described as “the best all-round blueberry variety in the world”. This is high praise indeed but is borne out of its outstanding fruit quality and yields. The fruit of Gladiator shows no weaknesses; it is a very large fruit with superlative flavour, an excellent bite and wonderful flavour with a first-rate sugar:acid balance. Gladiator is one of those rare examples of a berry variety that is genuinely grower and retailer friendly, satisfying the most important aspects of all parts of the blueberry supply chain.
Maverick: Yield leader with global potential
Maverick, already well-renowned for its industry-leading yields, continues to exceed expectations. This past season has been the first time that we have seen the variety fruiting in some parts of Asia and North Africa. In both of these areas, not only have we witnessed its already proven precocity, but we have also tasted larger and sweeter berries than in other production regions. Maverick has always had the ability to yield in excess of 4kgs/plant one year after planting.
This remains the case in new locations and we are now seeing more mature plantations producing over 6kgs a further year down the road. Fruit quality remains excellent with a berry size of 18–20mm that is consistent throughout the harvest period and with very good flavour and firmness profiles. The interest in Maverick is growing year on year.
Looking ahead: Promising new selections
In addition to these established low-chill blueberry varieties, we have also spent a good deal of time this spring evaluating new selections. We are excited to report that the future pipeline of varieties is very exciting and we look forward to sharing more information on the next generation of low-chill types in the near future.
Blueberry production in warmer growing regions globally is continuing to develop in a positive way and we are privileged to be playing our part in this evolutionary process by bringing to market improved genetics for growers, retailers, and consumers alike.
