O'Neal Blueberry

O'Neal was developed through North Carolina State University's blueberry breeding program, which traces back to the 1930s in cooperation with the USDA. The program was originally focused on combating blueberry stem canker, a disease native to the southeastern coastal plain, but by the 1970s had shifted its focus with the emergence of a different disease, stem blight, and the broader development of "southern highbush" blueberries — varieties specifically bred for the Southeast's milder winters and lower chill-hour requirements compared to traditional northern highbush types. O'Neal, real and specifically documented as one of the pivotal releases of that era alongside Reveille, helped establish southern highbush blueberries as a genuinely viable, high-quality commercial category, with breeding goals specifically focused on fruit quality and mechanical harvest suitability.