Abstract:

According to the shrub height, blueberry can be divided into three categories: highbush, half?highbush, and lowbush, while according to the geological origin, blueberry can be divided into southern highbush, and northern highbush. ‘Zhaixuan 4’ is a new southern highbush cultivar of blueberry, and was selected from the seedlings of the highbush hybrid cross ‘NC1688’ × ‘NC1526’，which were introduced from America. The plant average height is 86.42 cm, but the crown width is 116.42 cm×111.92 cm; the plants are semi?evergreen, and the leaves are dark green; the cultivar has good yield and strong adaptability; it is more resistant to heavy soil, and can grow well in the soil pH 4.0-6.0; the fruit is early maturing type, the ripening period is from the beginning of June to the end of June; the color of berries is purple blue, and there is obvious white powder on the surface of the fruit; the fruit size is small to medium, the average fruit weight is about (1.54 ± 0.27)g, the transverse diameter of the fruit is (1.32±0.09) cm and the vertical diameter of the fruit is (1.06±0.06) cm; the soluble solid content of the fruit is 10.0%-12.5%, the acid content is 0.40%-0.60%; the fruit taste sweet and can be used for both processing and fresh food.‘Zhaixuan 4’is suitable for cultivation in the Yangtze River basin and most of southern China.

Key words: highbush blueberry, new cultivar, ‘Zhaixuan 4’, early maturing, quality