CORVALLIS, Ore. — Last week, Oregon State University hosted a blueberry cutting event during which people taste-tested 112 different blueberry selections and varieties.

Scott Lukas, berry program leader in OSU’s endowed professorship for the Northwest berry and management production program, said breeders have been developing blueberries with traits that “align with the needs of producers, processors and consumers.”

Across public and private breeding programs, common traits scientists are breeding for include high yield, large berry size, uniformity, fruit quality, ease of mechanized harvestability, flavor, sweetness, firmness, long shelf life, seasonality, disease resistance and heat tolerance.

“It’s really cool to be able to breed a new plant…,” said Lily Hislop, a postdoctoral researcher in a breeding program that is a cooperative effort between USDA’s Agricultural Research Service and OSU.

Growers facing rising labor costs are interested in varieties that can easily be machine harvested.

Lukas said varieties are more compatible with mechanized harvesting if most of the berries ripen at once. Breeders also aim to develop varieties in which berries are easily released from the bush and do not bruise when dropped by machinery.

“Firmness is very important to us,” said Ted Mackey, a research technician who has been with the USDA-ARS/OSU berry breeding program for about 30 years.

Scientists are also breeding for long shelf life. Hislop said she is exploring traits that influence how long a blueberry lasts in the refrigerator.

Mackey said breeders also have seasonality in mind.

Duke is the leading early-ripening Northern Highbush variety. Mackey’s program is working toward developing varieties that would ripen early in the summer, competing with Duke.

The team is also developing selections for the late-season market.

Additionally, scientists are testing selections for heat tolerance and disease resistance. Mackey and Hislop said priorities include developing blueberries resistant to mummy berry and blueberry shock virus.

Mackey does not expect any new variety releases within the next year.

Before a new variety is released, the USDA-ARS/OSU program will need to fill a vacancy. In December, the program’s geneticist, Claire Luby, moved to a different institution. Mackey, Lukas and Hislop hope a new geneticist will fill the role by mid-summer.

Meanwhile, private companies — Driscoll’s, Fall Creek Farm & Nursery Inc. and others — are also developing varieties, said Mackey.

One such company is California Berry Genetics, co-owned by Greg and Monica Willems, who also own Farm to Table Berries. Scott NeSmith, a blueberry breeder and horticulture professor at the University of Georgia, is helping the company develop exotic cultivars.

The program is breeding for varieties with “picking economics” and “consumer appeal,” said Greg Willems.

California Berry Genetics has developed a variety called Blue Duchess, which is highly compatible with machine harvesting.

“We want our domestic growers to continue farming and have availability of varieties that can keep them sustainable,” said Willems.

The company has also developed Sweet Duchess, which produces sweet, aromatic blueberries, and Early Duchess, an early-season variety that produces jumbo blueberries.

California Berry Genetics maintains exclusive rights to package Duchess berries, which the company plans to buy from grower-partners across California and Southern Oregon.

Experts expect public and private breeding programs to continue developing new varieties.