Abstract: The new blueberry cultivar‘Ziyue 3’was developed from the natural hybrid offspring of the imported Peruvian blueberry‘L4’,belonging to the southern-highbush Vaccinium series,characterized by mid-early maturity. The fruit is large,the largest single berry reaching up to 5.60 g,averaging 2.75 g,and an average cross-sectional diameter of 22.36 mm,presenting a flat-round shape with medium bloom and dark blue color. The sepals are flat and semi-upright,with a deep calyx pit and a large,deep notched stem scar. The ripe fruit is soft in texture,with a sweet,sour. The average soluble solids content is 15.23%,and the vitamin C content is 0.22 mg · g^-1,the average fruit hardness is 16 kg · cm^-2. It has excellent flavor and yield,with an average plant yield of 5 kg for two-year-old plants. It is suitable for substrate cultivation in southwestern China and northern regions using solar greenhouse facilities.

Key words: blueberry, southern-highbush Vaccinium, cultivar