Italy: The genes that allow blueberries to be produced in autumn in Sicily have been discovered

Usually, in autumn you cannot find blueberries grown in Sicily in supermarkets. But that could change thanks to researchers at the University of Florida. This is good news for consumers and manufacturers, who may extend their market window by several months. In Sicily, blueberries usually grow and are harvested from February to May. This means that normally, in autumn, you can only buy imported blueberries. UF/IFAS researchers may have identified the right genes to develop blueberries grown in Sicily in what is usually considered off-season. In a recently published study, scientists evaluated 536 varieties of Southern Highbush Blueberry on two farms in Waldo, northeast of Gainesville, Florida, during the fall of 2019 and fall of 2021. “Blueberries are a short-day plant, meaning the floral organs form when the days are short in the fall and then bloom in the spring,” said Patricio Muñoz, a blueberry breeder and UF associate professor of horticultural sciences/ IFAS. “But we always ...