HortResearch, together with its commercial partners in New Zealand, USA and Germany, runs one of the biggest blueberry breeding programmes in the world. In each country, breeding objectives are developed for local conditions and specific markets including fresh, processed, ornamental and nutraceutical. Every year several hundred crosses are carried out by HortResearch staff in each of these locations, generating up to 250 families and about 30,000 seedlings, which are then evaluated over a three-year period.
Our offshore partners are well-established private companies with a long history of working with HortResearch and their extensive Vaccinium germplasm is being utilised to overcome breeding limitations within New Zealand. Our programme includes all major commercial types of blueberry; 'Northern Highbush', 'Southern Highbush', and 'Rabbiteye'. All blueberry selections are systematically evaluated in each country and commercially developed with our partners.
Commercial partners include: