Origin: in New Brunswick, N.J., by the U.S. Dept. of Agriculture and the New Jersey Agr. Expt. Sta. Introd. in 1959. Stanley × Weymouth; cross made in 1936 by F.V. Coville; selected by J.H. Clarke, E.M. Meader, and George M. Darrow; tested as USDA 18-116; a sister selection of Earliblue. Tree: erect; well-shaped; vigorous; not consistently productive; appears to be as hardy as Berkeley and Pemberton under normal conditions. Recommended for trial as a second early, large-fruited variety for northeastern U.S. Named in honor of Lester Collins (1880-1957), amateur horticulturist and fruit grower, president of the New Jersey State Board of Agr., the Blueberry Cooperative Assn., the American Cranberry Growers Assn., and the New Jersey Peach Council. Fruit: cluster size medium, rather compact; attractive; berries as large as Earliblue; oblate; flesh very firm, light blue; highly flavored, sweet to mildly subacid; ripens early, midway between Earliblue and Bluecrop, filling the gap in the ripening season of large-fruited varieties; does not drop; resistant to cracking.
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