South Africa’s blueberry industry is testing a new generation of blueberry genetics as breeders and growers seek varieties that perform across the country’s diverse production environments while meeting demanding export-market requirements.
At Fall Creek Connect in Paarl, South Africa, Applied Research Lead Jeán Kotzé presented early trial results from five promising selections being evaluated for Southern African conditions. The trials are examining how genetics developed in other parts of the world translate into the region’s very different climates, production systems and market windows.
One of the selections, FCM20-002, is a Mexican selection described as heavy-cropping, with a relatively concentrated harvest peak, sweet flavour and average shelf life. However, the performance data presented came from trials in Mexico or Spain, meaning the selection still requires validation under Southern African conditions before its commercial potential can be fully established. Other trial material was assessed against established cultivars including Apex, AzraBlue and Sekoya Pop, while Ventura was used as a comparator in one of the trials.
This distinction matters because Southern Africa is not a single blueberry production environment. The region stretches from near equatorial Kenya to South Africa’s Western Cape, where production takes place around 32° to 34° south. Differences in latitude, altitude, temperature, and growing conditions mean that a variety performing well in Mexico or Spain cannot automatically be expected to deliver the same results elsewhere.
Fall Creek’s approach therefore involves putting promising genetics into row trials with growers and observing their performance under commercial conditions. The objective is not just to identify varieties with high yields, but to understand how individual genetics respond to particular environments and management systems and how their production characteristics align with market requirements.
The breeding process itself is a long-term exercise. Fall Creek conducts approximately 300 crosses each year, with about 30,000 seedlings entering evaluation before the number of selections is progressively reduced through successive stages of testing. A variety can take between eight and 15 years to move from an early cross to commercialisation.
That long development cycle means breeders have to anticipate what growers, exporters, retailers and consumers will require several years into the future. Yield remains important, but fruit quality, consistency, flavour, shelf life, harvest timing and the ability to supply particular markets are becoming increasingly important considerations.
For Southern Africa, this creates an interesting opportunity. Fall Creek currently has operations or a presence in South Africa, Namibia, Zimbabwe and Kenya, while its first plants have recently arrived in Zambia. One of the selections, FCE21-024, has already been distributed selectively in Zimbabwe and Kenya, although it has not yet been released in South Africa. Kotzé sees greater potential for this selection in the Western Cape than in northern production areas.
The diversity of the region could ultimately become an advantage. If the right genetics are matched to the right production zones, Southern African growers could potentially spread blueberry supply across a wider part of the year rather than concentrating production within narrow harvest periods.
The genetics question is also becoming more relevant as South Africa seeks additional export destinations. In September, the country’s Department of Agriculture said negotiations to secure access for South African blueberries to China had reached an advanced stage, following submission of a draft import protocol by China. The government was targeting completion of the process before the end of 2026.
For growers, however, access to a new market is only one part of the equation. The fruit entering that market must meet its quality, consistency, phytosanitary, and supply requirements. This puts greater emphasis on genetics that can combine production performance with the characteristics demanded by retailers and consumers.
The work does not stop with choosing the variety. Fall Creek South Africa’s operations team also highlighted nursery quality, plant identity, traceability and biosecurity as critical components of orchard establishment. Producing a finished nursery plant can take approximately 14 to 18 months, depending on the season and available planting material.
The broader lesson from the trials is that blueberry expansion cannot be reduced to planting more hectares. The commercial question is more about which genetics are planted, where they are planted, when they produce, and whether the resulting fruit fits the market it is intended to serve.
NBF Insight
Southern Africa’s blueberry opportunity is becoming a genetics and market-matching story.
The region has the climatic diversity to produce blueberries across different production windows, but that advantage only becomes commercially useful when growers have varieties specifically suited to each environment. A cultivar that performs exceptionally in one country or latitude may produce a very different result elsewhere.
That makes local trials more than a technical exercise. They are a form of commercial risk management.
For an export-oriented industry, the value of new genetics will ultimately be measured by the combination of yield, harvest timing, fruit quality, shelf life, production costs and access to markets willing to pay for those characteristics.
As South Africa pursues additional markets such as China, the ability to produce the right blueberry, in the right place, at the right time and to the required quality could become just as important as expanding production itself.
