The United States is the largest blueberry-producing country in the world.
But rapidly rising temperatures could lead to see smaller yields in the future - an issue research at Delaware State University seeks to address.
Blueberries are native to Canada and the Northeast region of the United States, and prefer milder temperatures in their summer growing season.
DSU’s Dr. Kalpalatha Melmaie and Dr. Krishnanand P. Kulkarni are using genetic research to focus on finding a solution to this dilemma.
“People have observed what effect you can see when you adjust the temperature, but not enough effort has been put in to develop new varieties that can withstand a few degrees higher in temperature as the fruits are developing," said Melmaie.
Using a $300,000 grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Institute of Food and Agriculture, the team will investigate high temperature stress tolerance in blueberries.
Melmaie says they’re studying the blueberries in two ways. First, they’re looking at the physiological and biochemical changes occurring when the temperature rises, such as what happens to the leaves and fruit.
“And at the same time, I’m looking at what changes are happening at the gene level, and genome level. We’re connecting all of this information like dots. And the ultimate goal is to develop qualities that can tolerate high temperature stress,” she explained.
Using genetic breeding, they hope to create a more heat-tolerant variety of blueberry, and help farmers yield large numbers of high quality crops moving forward.
All data from this research, including a genetic map of the blueberry plants, will be publicly available, making it so other researchers will be able to utilize it to further their work in the area.
