'Biloxi' Southern Highbush Blueberry

‘Biloxi’ tetraploid southern highbush blueberry is a new cultivar developed and released by the Agricultural Research Service of the U.S. Department of Agriculture breeding programs in Beltsville, MD, and Poplarville MS. Plants of “Biloxi’ are upright, vigorous and productive. The fruit ripens early, has medium size, with good color, firmness, stem scar, and flavor. Although ‘Biloxi’ is predominantly a tetraploid southern highbush in parentage, adaptation to the southern US environment was obtained from two diploid and one hexaploid Vaccinium species. This relatively low-chill cultivar was released in 1998 for production in the coastal plains of the Southeastern United States, and should be planted with other southern highbush cultivars to facilitate pollination. ‘Biloxi’ blooms early, about the same time as “Climax” rabbiteye blueberry, but fruit ripening precedes the earliest ripening rabbiteye cultivars by about 14 to 21 days. Thus, while providing Southern blueberry growers with a cultivar to aid in exploiting early-fruit markets, ‘Biloxi’ may require protection from spring frosts.