ABSTRACT
Lowbush blueberry (Vaccinium angustifolium Ait.), a valuable commercial crop in Maine, Quebec, and Atlantic Canada, is typically harvested from managed perennial fields. New fields are usually created by deforestation of marginal lands and allowing the native stands (established plants and/or new seedlings) to grow and fill in. This growth pattern results in a population that is a composite of many highly variable plants. Plants that spread and form uniform clusters of vegetation within a field are termed “clones.” Such clonal populations continue further stand development through clonal spreading by rhizomes exclusively or new seedlings plus clonal spreading (Eriksson, 1993). Due to the conditions in which lowbush blueberry are managed and based on the natural dispersal of seeds due to animal behavior, it appears that the former scenario prevails as new seedlings are rare and mainly found along the edges of commercial fields (Crossland and Vander Kloet, 1996). The high level of variability found in lowbush blueberry can easily be observed as differences in leaf color and growth habit when viewing an established field. As well, different fields and clones within a field can show large variations in berry color and size and, more importantly, yield. Maintaining optimal berry yield is critical for commercial fields, thus an understanding of how population structure and genetic diversity affect yield is important. To date few studies on how genetic variation relates to field performance and/or clonal genetic relatedness have been reported for lowbush blueberry.
