In the blueberry breeding landscape, the Northern Highbush segment has long remained less dynamic than that of low-chill genetics developed for early production windows. It is precisely in this space that Nordica A81 fits in, a new selection now entering a decisive phase in Europe as well: Battistini Vivai will be the licensee for Italy of the genetics developed by Chilean breeder Alejandro Navarro within the Blueberica project.
This news marks an important step for the European blueberry market, because it brings to Italy a variety designed to address one of the historic limitations of the Northern type: delivering high fruit quality, productivity, and postharvest performance within a production window typical of Northern Highbush varieties.
A northern variety with southern-type quality
According to what has emerged from the commercial trials and tests conducted so far, Nordica A81 stands out for a particularly interesting technical profile. Although it is a “northern-type” variety, it is described as being capable of expressing fruit quality comparable to that of southern varieties, a segment in which genetics are currently much more advanced.
This aspect is especially relevant during the transition from the earliest varieties to mid-season ones, a stage in which the market often has to deal with a decline in quality in terms of size, firmness, and taste. Nordica A81, by contrast, aims to maintain a higher and more consistent standard.
From a production standpoint, the variety falls within a window similar to that of Duke, with the possibility of being slightly earlier under some conditions, but with yield levels that in observations carried out in Chile have shown greater potential. From the third year onward, recorded yields ranged between 3.5 and 4.5 kg per plant, with peaks that in some cases exceeded 5 kg.
The fruit characteristics also strengthen the positioning of the selection: size mostly above 18 mm, attractive bloom, good firmness, and a texture described as very “crunchy,” thus capable of offering a more substantial and balanced eating experience.
Long postharvest life and export potential
One of Nordica A81’s strongest points concerns postharvest performance. The variety was developed in the Southern Hemisphere also with the objective of serving long-distance commercial programs. For this reason, it is reported to have a postharvest life of more than 60–65 days, an element that makes it especially interesting for export-oriented supply chains and for markets requiring high logistical reliability.
The results of the latest commercial cycle in Chile, now in its third year of validation, confirmed what had already emerged from the test plots: productivity, fruit size, and fruit quality at levels considered highly consistent. It is on this basis that the project is now accelerating its international expansion.
Battistini Vivai to lead the launch in Italy
In Europe, this new phase is passing through Italy and Battistini Vivai, which announced at Macfrut that it has become the licensee of Alejandro Navarro’s new blueberry genetics, developed by Commercial Alfa.
The collaboration also involves Caliplant Group in Spain and Florep in the United States, within an international structure designed to support the development, testing, and commercial launch of the new selections. It is precisely from this vision that the Blueberica brand was created, and it will support the positioning of the new genetics across different markets.
One of the first concrete results of this collaboration is precisely Nordica A81, presented by Battistini Vivai as the first variety proposed for testing and already in the process of protection in Europe. The Romagna-based company has chosen to adopt an open approach, offering testing opportunities to a selected number of growers rather than limiting access to a few operators through more closed models.
Showroom in Cesena and agronomic trials in Emilia-Romagna
The Italian base for this path is already active. In the Cesena area, a showroom with two years of development has been set up, the “BatBerry Field,” where agronomic evaluations and fruit tastings have been conducted. At the same time, since 2022 Battistini Vivai has been carrying forward a research project dedicated to new blueberry genetics in soilless cultivation, with a trial field in Casemurate, near Cesena, in Emilia-Romagna.
Here, selections from different international breeding programs — from Chile to Poland and the United States — are being compared together with traditional varieties, also propagated in the VitroLeaf micropropagation laboratory.
This comparative work has strategic value: it makes it possible to verify under European conditions the behavior of new selections suited to northern areas and high-chill requirements, while preparing the ground for future commercialization.
One piece of a broader strategy
Nordica A81 is part of a broader genetic program. The Blueberica project stems from the collaboration between Commercial Alfa, led by breeder Alejandro Navarro as the developer of the varieties, and Caliplant, which acts as the global developer of the program, together with regional partners responsible for local implementation.
The goal is to build a varietal platform capable of covering different production windows. Within this framework, Nordica A81 plays the role of trailblazer, but other selections are already at an advanced stage of development and could join it in the coming years, including Southern varieties from the same line that are currently under development.
For Battistini Vivai, the launch of this genetics strengthens a strategy centered on innovation and experimentation. This path fits into a broader vision, already initiated with other non-exclusive licensed varieties and with the valorization of materials suited to Northern Europe and northern Italy.
An opportunity for Italian growers
Interest in Nordica A81 stems above all from the possibility of responding to an increasingly clear market demand: even in the production windows of Northern Highbush varieties, growers must be able to rely on high standards of quality, shelf life, and yield.
For this reason, the new selection is being watched closely. If the results observed so far are confirmed on a broader scale, the variety could offer Italian and European growers a concrete option to improve competitiveness and profitability in a segment where genetic innovation has so far been less intense than in other areas of blueberry breeding.
With Battistini Vivai as the licensing reference for Italy, Nordica A81 is therefore emerging as one of the names to watch in the next phase of varietal renewal in the European blueberry market.
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