US PATENT #36262
A high-yielding Southern Highbush cultivar with very good flavor, high aroma, and an exceptional ability to hold quality through harvest.
Sweet Payback responds well to carton-container shaping at planting and has a strong record of crop retention after freeze. Its semi-upright plants deliver firm, heavily bloomed fruit with a very small calyx and low splitting risk in wet conditions.
ESTIMATED CHILL
500 hrs
2023 YIELD
7–9 lb
FIRMNESS
192 g/mm
FLAVOR & AROMA
Very good
COMPLETE GROWER REFERENCE
US Patent #36262 · Southern Highbush
Sweet Payback is a vigorous, high-yielding early/mid-season cultivar with no known disease concerns at this time. Recommended for North Carolina, it is currently tested there and is being test planted across U.S. blueberry growing areas, with potential for Georgia and Northern states.
Production & harvest
Estimated chill hours: 500
Production system: Typical Southern Highbush
Hydrogen cyanamide: Recommended to prevent overcropping
Machine harvestability: Hand-pick once before machine harvest for best results; high tolerance to bruising and very packable
Per-plant yield: 7–9 lbs per bush (2023)
Fruit quality
Firmness: 192g/mm · Berry weight: 25g average · Diameter: 16–18mm
Brix: 8.6 · Brix/acid: 27.4
Very small, dry fruit scar · Heavy wax/bloom · No observed fruit defects
Flavor: Very good · Aroma: High · Storage: Similar to Legacy
Additional field notes: High-vigor, semi-upright plants respond well to carton container shaping at planting and deliver large early-to-mid-season yields. Fruit is firm with a very small calyx and heavy wax bloom. Very low chance of splitting in heavy rain or extended wet periods; it tends to retain a crop after freezes better than most varieties. Fruit remains high-quality and packable when left hanging on the bush. Flowering overlap is similar to IndigoCrisp and O’Neal. No known disease or insect susceptibility at this time.
IN THE FIELD
