Evaluation of highbush blueberry clonal progenies for fruit quality

Since 1998, about 540 blueberry (Vaccinium corymbosum) selections coming from 12 seedlings populations, where compared in first level of field plots, at the Research Institute for Fruit Growing, Pitesti, Romania. The task to evaluate some fruit quality traits requested for the fresh market: fruit weight, fruit colour, % Brix, size index, firmness and flavor. After the first evaluation level, only 32 promising selections and 4 cultivars passed through the next level of field trials. 'Vital' (3/85) with the highest value of mean fruit weight (3.92 g fruit^‑1) and 'Safir' recorded the highest value of fruit size index, both with more than 14% Brix were promoted for large scale propagation. An efficient selection for yield components has to be carried out for the next period.