Fruit quality parameters are typically reported by growers and researchers as an average. However, for small fruits such as blueberries, berry-to-berry variability in texture and flavor also impacts the consumer eating experience. The objective of this project was to capture how fruit quality uniformity varies by 1) cultivar, 2) berry maturity, and 3) exogenous phytohormone applications. From 2022-2023, analyses were conducted on individual blueberries from multiple studies carried out in commercial fields in Michigan. First, we compared the uniformity of berry weight, diameter, firmness, and total soluble solids in six northern highbush blueberry cultivars: “Duke,’ ‘Bluecrop,’ ‘Draper,’ ‘Calypso,’ ‘Elliott,’ and ‘Aurora.’ Second, we evaluated how changes in berry maturity due to delayed harvest and sequential harvest dates affected the uniformity of berry weight, diameter, firmness, total soluble solids, pH, total acidity, and aroma volatile concentrations in: ‘Duke,’ ‘Draper,’ ‘Calypso,’ and the uniformity of berry weight, diameter, firmness, and total soluble solids in ‘Bluecrop,’ ‘Elliott,’ and ‘Aurora,’ respectively. The implications of delayed harvest on the uniformity of consumer liking scores will also be discussed. Finally, we tested whether exogenous application of multiple phytohormones impacted the uniformity of berry weight, diameter, firmness, and total soluble solids in ‘Bluecrop,’ ‘Elliott,’ and ‘Aurora’. We conclude that “uniformity” is an important component of fruit quality in blueberry.
