Developments in Blueberry Breeding With Paul Sandefur, Ph.D.

In this episode of “The Business of Blueberries,” Kasey Cronquist, president of the U.S. Highbush Council (USHBC) and the North American Blueberry Council (NABC), is joined by Paul Sandefur, Ph.D., vice president of research and development at Fall Creek Farm and Nursery. Sandefur received his bachelor’s and master’s degrees in  horticulture from the University of Arkansas, and his doctoral degree from Washington State University. He leads the mid- and high-chill blueberry breeding program based in Oregon, and collaborates closely with Fall Creek’s breeding teams in Mexico and Europe. He joins the podcast to share about the process of bringing new blueberry varieties to the market, and the many characteristics Fall Creek is focusing on for the future of the industry.

“ Now, I have the pleasure of working with our global team to bring new varieties to the market. So really focusing on new varieties that have the eating experience that brings the joy that we need consumers to have, that we want consumers to have, but then also have the grower economics to make it work. That’s what gets me going and that’s what I get excited about doing every day.” – Paul Sandefur, Ph.D. 

 Topics covered include: 

• An introduction to Sandefur and his work. 
• The process behind developing new blueberry varieties and the obstacles plant breeders face in bringing them to market.
• The traits and unique qualities of the Peachy Blue variety. 

Crop Report

The Blueberry Crop Report is an update on crop conditions and markets throughout important blueberry growing areas. Today you’ll hear from Mario Ramirez in Mexico, Luis Vegas in Peru, Todd Sanders in California, Sunny Brar in British Columbia, Jody McPherson in North Carolina and Pat Goin in Indiana. This was recorded on May 29, 2025.