Narrative
Fruit: large, averaging 91 berries/half-pint cup; skin light blue, appearance excellent; flavor mild, slightly more acid than Homebell or Tifblue; earlier ripening than Tifblue, but later than Climax. Not suitable for shipping due to soft berry and wet scar. Bush: more spreading and generally productive at a younger age than Homebell or Tifblue; cross-pollination necessary for fruiting. Named in honor of Otis Woodard, in chargh of fruit work at the Georgia Coastal Plain Expt. Sta. for many years before his retirement in 1960. - Brooks and Olmo Register of Fruit and Nut Varieties. 1997. ASHS Press. p. 188.No longer planted commercially, good for home use and pick-your-own. Received as Vaccinium ashei. Plants of WOODARD are more spreading and generally are productive at a younger age than those of either Homebell or Tifblue.Berries of WOODARD' are larger than other rabbiteye varieties, averaging 91 berries to a half-pint cup. The berries are oblate or somewhat tangerine shaped, light blue in color, and of excellent quality and appearance. Flavor is slightly more acid than Tifblue or Homebell making WOODARD preferable for pie and similar uses though highly acceptable for fresh consumption. WOODARD ripens earliest of the modern rabbiteye varieties, being 6 to 8 days earlier than Homebell and 12 to 14 days before Tifblue. The stem scar is larger for a rabbiteye blueberry rating 7 on a scale of 1 - 10 whereas Tifblue rates 10; however, the sear is dry. WOODARD has held up well in shipping tests carried on during several seasons. The fruit has not cracked in rainy weather following a dry period.Cross-pollination is essential for fruiting of rabbiteye blueberries. Because of its early maturity, attractive light blue color, productiveness and fine quality. WOODARD in suggested as a companion variety to Tifblue for trial in southeastern United States for general market use. The variety is named in honor of Mr. Otis Woodard who was in charge of the fruit work at the Georgia Coastal Plain Experiment Station for many years before his retirement earlier this year.Woodard (early season) was introduced by Georgia in 1960 from a cross of 'Ethel' x 'Callaway' (Austin 1979). Plants are slow growing and spreading. The plant produces many stems over a crown area of 3 to 4 feet in 6 to 10 years. Leaves are medium thick and gray-green in summer truning to reddish-green in the fall. It is susceptible to powery mildew. It is low chilling (350 hrs) (Austin and Bondari 1987A) and flowers immediately after a period of warm weather, therefore it does not do well at higher elevations such as the Georgia mountains. Berries are large, light blue, early ripening in the season, and excellent quality when fully ripe, but are very tart until ripe. Seeds are very small and soft. The stem scar is shallow and dry, but large. Also, berries tend to stick to the plant during hot afternoon harvests. Anthesis to 50% ripe is 92 days. The number of seeds average 71 per berry. -M.E. Austin, 1994. Rabbiteye Blueberries. Ag Science, Inc. Auburndale, FL. p. 23.
W. T. Brightwell and George Darrow cultivar release cross made in 1945, introduced in 1960
Cultivar Synonym= Tested as T-1
NAMED FOR= Otis Woodard, head of fruit work at Tifton