Global Plant Genetics and Oregon Blueberry welcomed licensed nurseries, growers, consultants, marketers and industry specialists from a wide range of international markets to the Oregon Blueberry Open Day this week, providing an exclusive opportunity to experience the latest advances from one of the world’s leading blueberry breeding programmes.

The event marked the international debut of four new cultivars: OBG-Astoria, OBG-Belair™, OBG-Sirocco™ and OBG-Raptor™, highlighting the breadth of Oregon Blueberry’s breeding programme across both high chill and low chill production systems.

Together, the new introductions demonstrate the programme’s continued focus on improving fruit quality, grower economics, commercial performance and consumer satisfaction, while addressing the evolving needs of blueberry producers worldwide.

According to Adam Wagner, Blueberry Breeder at Oregon Blueberry, the programme reflects the changing priorities of the global industry.

“Today’s breeding objectives extend well beyond yield. We are selecting for fruit quality, firmness, flavour, consistency and overall commercial performance, while ensuring our cultivars perform reliably under real production conditions. Our goal is to deliver genetics that create value throughout the entire supply chain.”

Among the new introductions, OBG-Astoria represents the programme’s latest advancement in high chill breeding, combining fruit quality, firmness and commercial potential for traditional production regions. Alongside this, OBG-Belair™ and OBG-Sirocco™ demonstrate Oregon Blueberry’s continued progress in low chill breeding, while OBG-Raptor™ broadens opportunities across additional production environments.

Jon Horton, Business Development Director at Oregon Blueberry, believes the programme’s strength lies in its ability to address diverse global production systems.

“Our breeding programme is designed to serve growers across a wide range of production environments. Whether high chill or low chill, our objective is the same: to develop varieties that help growers remain competitive while meeting the increasingly high expectations of retailers and consumers around the world.”

As the programme’s international commercialisation partner outside the USA and Canada, GPG continues to work closely with nurseries, growers and commercial partners to introduce Oregon Blueberry genetics into key production regions around the world.

Jamie Petchell, Co-founder and Director of Global Plant Genetics, said the new introductions reflect the wider direction of the blueberry industry.

“The blueberry industry has evolved significantly over the past decade. Today’s most successful varieties must do much more than produce high yields. They must balance fruit quality, grower economics, resilience and consumer satisfaction.

“What impressed me most during the open day was the depth of the Oregon Blueberry breeding programme and its clear commitment to developing genetics that can help growers remain competitive in an increasingly quality-driven global market.”

With global blueberry consumption continuing to increase and retailer expectations continuing to evolve, the Oregon Blueberry programme is well positioned to contribute to the next generation of commercial cultivars.

The latest introductions demonstrate a long-term commitment to innovation across both high chill and low chill breeding, providing growers worldwide with new opportunities to improve productivity, fruit quality and commercial performance.

For more information about the Oregon Blueberry programme and international availability, please contact Global Plant Genetics.