Technical sheet of the Reka blueberry variety
-
Fruit flesh color: White
-
Skin color: Intense blue to purplish blue, pruinose blue, or blue-black
-
Size and Shape: Medium to large (approx. 1 cm in diameter), round in shape
-
Tree Size: Bushy, compact habit, typically reaching 1.2-1.5 m in height and 0.6-1.2 m in width
-
Fruit maturity: Very early, harvest from mid-June to early July
-
Fruit taste: Sweet, with a good sugar-acidity balance and a strong aromatic intensity reminiscent of wild blueberry. Firm and juicy flesh.
-
Earliness of the variety: Very early
-
Fruiting period Mid-June to early July
-
Disease resistance and storage: Generally good disease resistance. Excellent firmness allows good holding power during picking and transport, facilitating post-harvest storage.
-
Variety Yield: Very productive, a mature bush can produce up to 4 to 5 kg of fruit per season.
-
Is this variety self-fertile? Yes, self-fertile, but yield is optimized with other pollinating varieties nearby.
-
Commercial use: Fresh sale and processing (jams, pastries, freezing). Suitable for mechanical harvesting.
-
Comments: Early and productive variety, adapted to acidic and infertile soils. Attractive foliage turning flamboyant red in autumn. Good adaptability even on heavy or unfavorable soils compared to other varieties.
Quick read / the essentials on Myrtillier Reka
The 'Reka' blueberry, a variety from New Zealand, is attracting more and more producers in France thanks to its precocity and hardiness. To support professional farms, Bairiverse , your specialist wholesale supplier of blueberry plants , offers this variety, renowned for its high yields and excellent taste. With a harvest that begins in mid-June and juicy fruit with a high Brix content, 'Reka' ensures rapid marketing, ideal for fresh consumption and processing.
Buying Reka blueberry plants from a specialist blueberry plant wholesaler helps ensure profitable production, thanks to this variety's natural resistance to disease and excellent post-harvest performance. 'Reka' forms a vigorous, upright shrub that requires little maintenance while offering generous, self-fertile flowering, optimized by cross-pollination.
By choosing Bairiverse to buy Reka blueberry plants , you not only benefit from high-quality plants, but also from expert advice to optimize your orchard. Whether for planting in acidic soil or in heavier soil, 'Reka' adapts remarkably, with a frost tolerance of up to -30 °C. As a wholesale supplier specializing in blueberry plants , Bairiverse supports you in successful blueberry plantings with this sure value on the market.
Origin and professional use
Originally from New Zealand , the 'Reka' blueberry bush has established itself as an early reference for professional blueberry growers in France. It combines remarkable precocity , high natural resistance , good taste quality and excellent adaptability to varied growing conditions . Its hardiness and ease of management make it a strategic choice for farms seeking to secure an early production volume, suitable for both fresh consumption and processing.
Fruit characteristics
'Reka' fruits are round , medium to large in size , with a diameter of 1.2 to 1.5 cm and a unit weight of between 1.2 and 1.6 g . Their dark blue to purplish-blue skin protects a juicy , sweet and aromatic flesh, often compared to that of wild blueberries . The high Brix level (11 to 15 °Brix) ensures a sweet flavor well balanced by a hint of acidity.
The berries have a high juice content (80 to 85% of fresh weight) and retain their firmness and aroma after harvest , facilitating storage and transport . These qualities make 'Reka' perfectly suited to fresh marketing , but also to processing (juice, jams, pastries) or freezing .
Precocity and yield
'Reka' is a very early variety , with harvesting starting as early as mid-June in the warmer regions of France. It offers a concentrated and prolonged harvest lasting 4 to 6 weeks . In optimal conditions, an adult plant produces on average 4 to 5 kg of fruit per year , and a well-managed plantation can reach 8 to 9 tonnes per hectare .
Flowering and pollination
Flowering occurs between late April and early June , depending on the climate. The flowers, in clusters of pinkish-white bells, are self-fertile , but cross-pollination with other early to mid-season varieties such as Bluecrop, Spartan, Duke or Earliblue is highly recommended . This allows for better fruit set , a 20-30% increase in yields and an improvement in fruit quality .
Plant architecture and management
'Reka' forms a vigorous , bushy, upright shrub, measuring 1.3 to 1.8 m in height at maturity. The structure is dense but balanced , facilitating harvesting, including mechanized harvesting . Staking is not necessary in adulthood , although it can be useful in the first few years in windy areas.
The root system is superficial , with the majority of roots concentrated in the first 40 centimeters . It is therefore sensitive to water stress , excess water , compaction , and requires well-drained soil .
Soil and climate
'Reka' shows great adaptability to acidic to slightly acidic soils (ideal pH between 4.5 and 5.5), but tolerates up to a pH of 6.0 if drainage is excellent. It is moderately sensitive to limestone , but its resistance to root asphyxiation is above average , which makes it a good choice for heavy or unfavorable humus-rich soils. In soils that are too calcareous, an addition of heather earth or planting in a pit is recommended.
It is also very hardy , with a frost tolerance reaching -25 to -30°C , making it suitable for cold or high altitude regions .
Natural resistances
'Reka' is highly resistant to the main blueberry diseases : root rot (Phytophthora), grey mold (Botrytis), anthracnose (Colletotrichum), and scab (Fusicoccum). The annual loss rate due to disease is estimated to be less than 2% in well-managed plantations. It is highly resistant to common pests, particularly in comparison with varieties such as 'Bluecrop' or 'Patriot', although aphid attacks (Aphis spp.) remain possible.
Cultivation recommendations
'Reka' is usually planted on its own roots , without grafting. It establishes quickly, with the first fruiting in the 2nd to 3rd year . The dense and solid structure allows for easy training , in hedges or copses. Regular watering , especially during the flowering and ripening periods, is recommended.
Commercial use and valorization
Thanks to its taste quality and post-harvest stability , 'Reka' is suitable for both the fresh market and the processing industry . Its precocity allows for early marketing , which is interesting for short supply chains, large-scale distribution or export. Its firmness also makes mechanized harvesting possible, a factor of profitability in large-scale crops.
Professional alternatives
For growers looking to diversify their plots while maintaining a similar profile, Bluecrop , Patriot and Duke varieties offer similar performance in terms of hardiness, productivity and fruit quality. These varieties are also good complements for cross-pollination with 'Reka'.
Conclusion
'Reka' is a sure value for blueberry professionals , combining precocity, yield, hardiness and taste quality. Its agronomic adaptability , natural resistance and commercial versatility make it a strategic variety for any orchard oriented towards profitable and diversified production.
To summarize: Reka Blueberry
The 'Reka' blueberry bush is now a strategic choice for any professional producer. Its medium to large size, its aromatic flesh reminiscent of wild blueberries, and its exceptional storage capacity make it an essential reference. By choosing a wholesale supplier specializing in blueberry plants like Bairiverse , you can be sure of buying robust Reka blueberry plants , adapted to the requirements of today's market, both in short circuits and in large-scale distribution.
The agronomic qualities of 'Reka' – earliness, hardiness, high productivity – are reinforced by excellent resistance to the main blueberry diseases. Buying Reka blueberry plants through Bairiverse guarantees your farm a safe and sustainable investment. Thanks to its self-fertile flowering and compatibility with other varieties such as Bluecrop or Duke, 'Reka' also maximizes your yields through cross-pollination.
Finally, as a specialist wholesale supplier of blueberry plants , Bairiverse rigorously selects its plants to offer producers the best field performance. Whether you want to develop early production for the fresh market or supply a processing sector, buying Reka blueberry plants opens the way to competitive, sustainable and high-quality production.
