U.S. Patent Pending
Southern Highbush Blueberry Variety
Chill Requirement: 150-200 hours
Description: ‘Optimus’ is a high, early yielding variety which is suitable for machine harvest for the fresh market. It blooms early (later than ‘Magnus’ but earlier than ‘Wayne’), has good natural leafing, and its timing of production fits well for the Florida production window. Some chili thrips damage has been observed on ‘Optimus’. It is not highly recommended for hand-harvest, as the medium size berry is not preferred by pickers. Due to its early bloom, ‘Optimus’ may require freeze protection in January in certain areas. If hydrogen cyanamide is used in production, only very low doses are recommended.
Fruit Quality:
Size: Medium (average of 1.9 grams per berry/16.5 mm); similar to ‘Snowchaser’
Brix: High (11.3); similar to ‘Emerald’
Firmness: Very high (220 g/mm); similar to ‘Scintilla’
License Availability: For a list of current licensees in the USA, please click here.