Small’s blueberry (Vaccinium smallii А. Gray): Biological characteristics and selection of forms from natural populations on Sakhalin Island

Small’s blueberry (Vaccinium smallii) is a berry shrub species widely distributed in northern Japan, Sakhalin Island, the Kunashir and Iturup islands, and the Sovetsko-Gavansky district of Khabarovsk Krai. This study presents the first investigation of V. smallii coenopopulations on Sakhalin Island. Research focused on native plants, selected forms exhibiting economically valuable traits, and introduced cultivars maintained at the Sakhalin Botanical Garden Department of the Botanical Garden-Institute, Far Eastern Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences. Field studies on Sakhalin Island, complemented by stationary research at the Botanical Garden conducted since 2019, have characterized the species’ biology. V. smallii shows a preference for well-lit habitats, a late vegetation and flowering onset that reduces late frost damage, low soil and moisture requirements, disease and pest resistance, and successful acclimatization in full-light experimental plots. The fruits exhibit superior quality compared to several cultivated species, with notable variability in key traits, indicating high potential for introduction into cultivation and selection research. Analysis revealed a more than 15-fold difference in sugar content and 4,1-fold difference in vitamin C infruits between typical and selected fruit forms. Therefore, the introduction of V. smallii into cultivation is a timely and important objective. Future research on high-value selected forms under both natural and cultivated conditions, combined with parallel efforts to develop improved varieties, will advance the cultivation of V. smallii as a promising novel berry crop.

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