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The Patent Garden

US Plant Patent PP13931

Southern Belle

Blueberry plant called ‘Southern Belle’

PUBLIC DOMAIN

Patent expired January 11, 2022. This plant is in the public domain — anyone may propagate and sell it.

Twenty years from the filing date would end on January 7, 2022. This patent earned 4 days of term adjustment for delay at the Patent Office, which is why it runs longer.

Figure 1 of US plant patent PP13931, the photograph of Southern Belle printed in the patent.
Figure 1 from US Plant Patent PP13931, reproduced as printed. Photographs in a plant patent are taken by the applicant. Reproduction of the patent document is permitted; the image is shown whole and uncropped for that reason.

The record

Patent number
PP13931
Filed
January 7, 2002
Granted
July 1, 2003
Expires
January 11, 2022
Assignee
FLORIDA FOUND SEED PRODUCERS INC
Inventor
LYRENE PAUL M

Abstract

‘Southern Belle’ is a new southern highbush blueberry variety that originated as a seedling selected from the University of Florida recurrent selection program, in which genes from Vaccinium corymbosum and V. darrowi were being combined and selected to obtain varieties that are adapted to mild-winter regions and produce large, high-quality berries early in the harvest season. ‘Southern Belle’ has been tested in clonal plots in south Georgia and north Florida since 1984. ‘Southern Belle’ produces a vigorous, low-chill bush that sprouts abundantly from the base, and produces a heavy crop of fruit on stout, upright stems that can reach 4 to 5 m tall if not pruned. The berries, which ripen in late April and early May in north Florida, are large and have a very small, dry picking scar, as well as good firmness and a mild, subacid flavor. The berry picks free of stems and adhering dried corollas and has excellent post-harvest life if stored at 32° F. The plant propagates readily from softwood cuttings. It is only moderately resistant to stem blight and Phytophthora root rot, and should be planted on good blueberry ground with irrigation and annual pruning to maintain plant health and vigor.

Show the legal claimThe single numbered claim as granted — the legal text that defines what this patent covers.

I claim: 1. A new and distinct highbush blueberry plant, substantially as illustrated and described, characterized by its low chilling requirement, large, firm berry, small, dry picking scar, and high yield potential.

Read the full patent: US Plant Patent PP13931 in full — the complete specification, every figure, and the file history.