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ARS Home » Pacific West Area » Corvallis, Oregon » Horticultural Crops Production and Genetic Improvement Research Unit » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #351793
Research Project: Genetic Improvement of Blackberry, Red and Black Raspberry, Blueberry, and Strawberry

Location: Horticultural Crops Production and Genetic Improvement Research Unit

Title: ‘Norman’ southern highbush blueberry

Author
item CLARK, JOHN - UNIVERSITY OF ARKANSAS
item SALGADO, ALEJANDRA - UNIVERSITY OF ARKANSAS
item DRAPER, ARLEN
item FINN, CHAD
item SANDEFUR, PAUL - FALL CREEK FARM AND NURSERY
item BOCHES, PETER - FALL CREEK FARM AND NURSERY

Submitted to: HortScience
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 3/27/2018
Publication Date: 5/1/2018
Citation: Clark, J.R., Salgado, A., Draper, A., Finn, C.E., Sandefur, P., Boches, P. 2018. ‘Norman’ southern highbush blueberry. HortScience. 53(5):737–740. https://doi.org/10.21273/HORTSCI13003-18.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.21273/HORTSCI13003-18

Interpretive Summary: ‘Norman’ is a new southern highbush blueberry cultivar from the University of Arkanasas blueberry breeding program. ‘Norman’ is named in honor of Dr. James Norman Moore, who began the Arkansas fruit breeding program in 1964 and led the program for 33 years. ‘Norman’ resulted from a cross of G-566 x ‘Legacy’ made in 1984 by Arlen Draper. It is a southern highbush (Vaccinium spp.) cultivar with yield comparable to ‘Bluecrop’, ‘Ozarkblue’, and ‘Summit’. Fruit size is comparable to ‘Ozarkblue’ and larger than ‘Bluecrop’ and its firmness is superior to ‘Bluecrop’, ‘Ozarkblue’, and ‘Summit’. ‘Norman’ ripens 5 d after ‘Bluecrop’ and 8 d before ‘Ozarkblue’. Plants of ‘Norman’ have an estimated chilling requirement of 600 h (hours below 7 °C), which is lower than ‘Bluecrop’ and ‘Ozarkblue’.

Technical Abstract: ‘Norman’ is the third cultivar released from the University of Arkansas blueberry breeding program, which began in the late 1970s and has involved cooperative efforts with the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA). Previous cultivars released from this breeding program were ‘Ozarkblue’ and ‘Summit’. ‘Norman’ is named in honor of Dr. James Norman Moore, who began the Arkansas fruit breeding program in 1964 and led the program for 33 years. ‘Norman’ is a southern highbush (Vaccinium spp.) cultivar with yield comparable to ‘Bluecrop’, ‘Ozarkblue’, and ‘Summit’. Fruit size is comparable to ‘Ozarkblue’ and larger than ‘Bluecrop’ and its firmness is superior to ‘Bluecrop’, ‘Ozarkblue’, and ‘Summit’. ‘Norman’ ripens 5 days after ‘Bluecrop’ and 8 days before ‘Ozarkblue’. Plants of ‘Norman’ have an estimated chilling requirement of 600 hours (hours below 7 °C), which is lower than ‘Bluecrop’ and ‘Ozarkblue’.