Marcela Zúñiga, executive of Viveros SunnyRidge, in her participation in the Webinar "Emerging Markets", organized by Agricultural Seminars, announced the launch of four new varieties of the TH family, produced in the prestigious genetic program of the University of Georgia.

As a frame of reference, the nurseryman asks: "Why new varieties?", Arguing that there is no 100% perfect variety, but we always continue to move in that direction to find the best one. The expert comments that there are varieties that have behaved very well in a given soil, climate and latitude, and have enabled the development of the industry in some countries, but each day new territories are incorporated with their own characteristics of soil, climate and management. .

Within the same framework, it highlights the various existing business models, of free varieties, with royalty per plant, with royalty for fruit, or club-type varieties, etc. “Every day the consumer is more informed and looks for a particular flavor, firmness and condition of the fruit, and niche markets are being created for certain varieties. Every day the varieties are demanded more in all their characteristics ”, he affirms.

Good flavor, little cold and concentrated harvest

These new varieties of blueberry plants, from the TH variety genetic program, are licensed by the English company Global Plant Genetics, and correspond to Highbush varieties, with low or very low cold requirements, and with a more concentrated harvest, which that allows you to take advantage of the best-priced windows on the market and have a lower harvest cost, which is a great advantage for the profitability of the crop.

Marcela Zúñiga highlights that flavor has been something fundamental in this program. "All TH varieties have an exceptional flavor, high firmness, with very small and dry scars, very firm as fruit, very vigorous growth and high productivity", and stresses that the results obtained from this genetic program have been to deliver varieties with shorter periods of flora and fruit than the existing plant varieties, which gives them advantages in places where there is frost, and also means that they are less exposed to diseases, such as Botrytis, which is very important in the post-harvest life of the fruit.

Four selections TH

The license for these four selections is offered for Peru (TH944 and TH1321), for Colombia (TH944, TH1321 and TH1872), and for Ecuador (TH944, TH1321, TH1870 and TH1872).

• The TH944 stands out for its very good flavor and large size. "The consumer is looking for a very good taste, especially in the Asian market, therefore, these varieties meet that first requirement of meeting a very good taste. We have this variety available for evaluation and testing with selected producers in the territories of Peru, Ecuador and Colombia, and we can be consulted by producers who are interested in trying them, "says the executive.
• TH1321, or Sweet duchess, as it was baptized in South Africa, it is a variety with a very low cold requirement and is ready to be shipped to Peru, Ecuador and Colombia. It is the one with the lowest cold requirement of the four and produces a round fruit, very large in size, crisp, with great sweetness and with a very small and dry scar. It is an erect growing plant, with a yield of 20 to 25 tons. It is the firmer variety of fruit of all and with a very good post-harvest life.
• The TH1870 variety stands out for its vigor, size and firmness of the fruit, maintaining its good flavor, which is what characterizes the Georgia varieties. It is available only in Ecuador and at the end of the year you can start tests with selected producers who want to apply.
• TH1872, or Gladiator, It also has very little cold requirement and is a vigorous plant, with erect growth and a very good productive level. Its fruit is round, sweet, tasty and very large, with an intense blue color and very good bloom.

Respect the breeder's right

Marcela Zúñiga announces the realization of future Field Days to learn about the advantages of these new varieties in the field and informs that they will begin to be tested at the end of this year with the selected producers in each territory, before moving on to the commercial stage in two to three years.

The experienced nurseryman ends up making a call to respect the commercial rules of the genetics market and take care of its heritage.

“The commitment of Viveros SunnyRidge has always been to make the varieties it sells available to all producers, avoiding distorting the market by privileging some over others. We do not force anyone to market the fruit with a certain company and we do not limit the availability of plants that are needed. As a nursery we only collect the royalties that come to the breeder, in the case of protected varieties, and that go entirely to the genetic improvement programs, which allows them to be financed so that they continue to make new developments in favor of improvement, productivity, the quality of the fruit, and in favor of the producer having better varieties, that is why it is very important to respect the breeder's right and not make illegal propagations of the varieties that have taken many years to develop ”, he concludes.

For more information write to: sandra.gonzalez@sunnyridge.cl o contact@sunnyridge.cl