Berry Blue LLC. and University of Florida Sign Research Agreement

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Jackie Hampton
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Focusing on late-season highbush blueberry varieties that will delight growers and consumers Grand Junction, MI

Berry Blue LLC., an MBG Marketing company, is excited to announce its partnership with the University of Florida Blueberry Breeding Program to research and develop new and proprietary late-season southern highbush blueberry varieties. This collaboration will bring together the expertise of both organizations to create unique blueberry varieties that are not currently available in the market for late May and June.

The University of Florida Blueberry Breeding Program has a long history of developing successful blueberry cultivars, and Berry Blue is committed to uniting the combined expertise of both breeding programs and bringing these innovative cultivars to blueberry growers. Through this partnership, the two organizations will work together to develop blueberry varieties that not only have enhanced agronomic traits, but also improved consumer appeal.

“We are thrilled to be partnering with the University of Florida Blueberry Breeding Program,” said Brad Moorer, President/CEO of Berry Blue LLC. and

MBG Marketing. “Their expertise in blueberry breeding has been tremendously influential in the industry. We are excited to bring together our collective breeding efforts and technology to deliver transformative cultivars to MBG growers.”

MBG will leverage the results of this partnership between Berry Blue and the University of Florida Blueberry Breeding Program in its already highly successful southeastern blueberry program it sells under the Naturipe brand.

“This multi-year, multi-million dollar investment into new varieties further validates the commitment that MBG grower/owners have made to innovating for the future of the berry category,” states Moorer.

“This will be a ground-breaking advancement of southern highbush blueberries. Together, we will deliver the highest quality, best tasting berries to retailers and consumers around the world.” “When Brad approached me about this project, I got very excited about the possibility of extending the work we have been doing for Florida growers. In this project, we will leverage our expertise and germplasm to breed blueberry varieties with high yield and ideal fruit characteristics. These efforts will complement the work we have been doing and we will continue doing in Florida. This means we will use the new funding to develop cultivars for the window after the Florida season. We would not be able to do this work if it was not for the support of Berry Blue and MBG,” said Patricio Munoz, Blueberry Breeder at the University of Florida.

About Berry Blue LLC.:

Berry Blue LLC. is a plant genetics company that specializes in the development of new and improved varieties of northern and southern highbush blueberries. The company’s breeding program focuses on creating berries that are high-yielding, machine harvestable, disease-resistant, and have superior flavor and shelf life. They use traditional as well as modern breeding methods to identify the underlying genetic components associated with economically important traits and accelerate the breeding process.

Berry Blue collaborates with universities and other research institutions to further advance the breeding program. The company licenses its proprietary varieties to nurseries, growers, and distributors in the US and internationally, and works closely with their customers to ensure the success of their plants.

About the University of Florida Blueberry Breeding Program:

The University of Florida’s Blueberry Breeding Program began in the 1940s to develop low-chill, earlyripening, high-quality blueberry cultivars adapted to Florida’s warm climate. The program successfully overcame initial obstacles by crossing high-quality northern blueberry cultivars with native Florida Vaccinium species and selecting for low-chill requirements, resulting in the development of the southern highbush varietal type cultivars that revolutionized blueberry production in Florida and worldwide. The program has released more than 100 varieties independently and in collaboration with global partners.

The program uses the latest methods and technology to accelerate the development of new cultivars.

The program’s current focus is on low and no-chill breeding blueberries with improved fruit quality traits such as flavor and texture, as well as traits such as productivity, disease resistance, machine harvestcapability, and healthy components.

About Naturipe:

Naturipe is a farmer-owned producer and marketer of nutritious, best tasting, premium berries and avocados that has been an industry leader for more than 100 years producing healthy, deliciously fresh, frozen, and value-added products. Because our diverse grower base shares resources, skills, labor, and knowledge, we are better farmers and, in turn, strengthen the local farm community. Our focus on innovation ensures year-round availability of locally grown and Globally Local TM conventional and organic fruit.