Blueberry producers will have new varieties

IQ Berries (IQB) and Osiris Plant Management teamed up in 2021 to bring new high-quality varieties to the market this year.

13/05/2022

IQ Berries and Osiris Plant Management (Chile) join forces in a great challenge: to develop and bring to the market new varieties of blueberries with innovative and captivating qualities for the palate.

Among the attributes of these varieties are their large size and firmness, the “Pop” texture, their sweet flavor (high brix degrees), great color and flowering, good production from the first production season and long shelf life.

These blueberry berries adapt better to regions that accumulate very few cold units (zero cold hours), so warmer territories are ideal: Peru, northern Chile, Colombia, Mexico, among others.

These varieties adapt very well to pot cultivation, which offers great advantages such as higher planting density that translates into higher yields, customization of the specific substrate for cultivation that allows better fruit quality, optimization in the use of water and fertilizers. , among others.

This new genetic line marks a difference from what the industry is currently working on, in terms of its attributes and its semi-open marketing.

How were these varieties grown?

Headquartered in Brisbane, Australia, IQB is dedicated to advancing the development of high-quality blueberries. The company is headed by Peter Rolfe, who has over 20 years of experience growing berries with excellent genetics, such as high-quality, low-temperature Southern Highbush.

For his part, Danny Francis, commercial director, has more than 10 years of experience and is also the creator of Pop Worldwide, the largest supplier of berries to Marks & Spencer in 2020.

“Our goal has always been to connect our varieties with unique attributes and characteristics both with growers throughout the Americas and with markets to captivate the end consumer,” said Francis.

“South America is a highly strategic growing territory for the global consumer market. IQB and Osiris Plant Management are proud to partner not only to select the best growers from that territory, but also to manage the importation, quarantine and multiplication of the genetics”, he added.

The research and development work of IQ Berries will have the support of Osiris Plant Management, a Chilean company dedicated to the representation of plant genetics, intellectual property management and marketing of innovative fruit varieties.

Lucía Corbetto, a partner at Osiris Plant Management, pointed out that one of her goals is to promote these blueberry varieties and maintain a close relationship with producers, guiding and advising them during the production stage to achieve their full potential in terms of the attributes they demand. markets and establish them as a benchmark.

"We hope that producers and exporters contact us and learn more about the great attributes of these varieties and their commercial advantages. A fruit like blueberries is becoming an increasingly popular product all over the world and gaining popularity among consumers," concluded Corbetto.

For those who wish to discover the high quality standards of these new varieties, they can contact Osiris, holder of the license for America, from the United States to Chile. It also offers sublicense agreements to growers and exporters who want to take on the challenge of producing these blueberries.