Developing Native Vaccinium Crops and Cultivars.

Vaccinium species have long been harvested from the wild. Breeding and cultivar development, however, did not begin until about 1911 in New Jersey with efforts to commercially cultivate northern highbush blueberry (Vaccinium corymbosum). Cultivar development spread to cranberry (V. macrocarpon) and rabbiteye blueberry (V. ashei). Although lowbush blueberry cultivars were developed and the crop is grown commercially in eastern Canada and the northeastern United States, growers prefer to produce crops using wild seedlings of Vaccinium angustifolium. Other wild Vaccinium species native to eastern North America are used by breeders to improve the crops just mentioned. Vaccinium species native to western North America, Europe, and Asia are harvested from the wild but few are yet domesticated. Cultivation of ohelo (V. reticulatum) is just beginning in Hawaii and ‘Kilauea’ was released in 2010.  At least five other species appear to have potential for breeding. Alpine bilberry (V. uliginosum) has been studied for cultivation in northern Europe since the mid 1970s and attempts have been made to breed it and hybridize it with northern highbush blueberries. While those efforts have not yet resulted in a commercial industry, interest remains strong in cultivating alpine bilberry in Alaska. European blueberry (V. myrtillus) is widely harvested from the wild in northern Europe and is also native to North America. It has, so far, defied attempts to domesticate it. Progress domesticating European blueberry, as well as mountain huckleberry (V. membranaceum), oval-leaved bilberry (V. ovalifolium), and cascade huckleberry (V. deliciosum) has been reported. Other North American Vaccinium species with good prospects for cultivar development include dwarf huckleberry (V. caespitosum), evergreen huckleberry (V. ovatum), and red huckleberry (V. parvifolium). Priorities and practices in selection and breeding are described.