Hurricane Preparation

Just a quick note to caneberry growers in Eastern NC. #HurricaneIrene looks be be heading for NC. The Nursery folks at NCSU have prepared a nice list of things to do before and after a hurricane. Not all of the items will be appropriate for your situation, but many will. Here is a link.

http://www.ces.ncsu.edu/depts/hort/nursery/cultural/cultural_docs/env_effects/hurricane.html

Caneberry workshop Aug 31

There will be a blackberry and raspberry workshop in Laurel Springs at Upper Mountain Research Station on Aug. 31 from 9-12. Lunch will be served.


We will have tours of the raspberry and blackberry plots (some are in tunnels). Dr Hannah Burrack will be there talking about insects of importance to caneberry production including spotted wing drosophila. Dr.Penny Perkins-Veazie will be discussing post harvest handling of caneberries. 

Sponsors include the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, the North Carolina Agricultural Research Service and the North Carolina Cooperative Extension Service at N.C. State University; the N.C. Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services; and the N.C. Tobacco Trust Fund Commission.

For addition information, contact Ray Horton at 704-904-4117 or Margaret Blevins at 336-982-2501.

http://www.cals.ncsu.edu/agcomm/news-center/extension-news/blackberry-and-raspberry-workshop-set-for-aug-31/

Coming soon to your community

Have you seen the "Got to be NC Grown" panels on trucks around the state? Well now we have a truck that has a blackberry and raspberry theme! Thanks to the NC Tobacco Trust Fund Commission, NC Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services and NC State University for promoting these fantastic crops.

NC Blueberry Blog

Bill Cline, the NCSU Blueberry Specialist has a blog. It has lots of great information on cultivars and diseases. Check it out at http://ncblueberryjournal.blogspot.com/

Heat stress in raspberries, part 3

The final chapter in the raspberry heat stress story is about picking the right parents.  We have determined that some species of raspberry do better than others in the heat so we are using them in some of our crosses.

Above is a picture of 'Mandarin'.  This variety was released from NCSU in 1955. It is more resistant to heat than other varieties (note the other plots in the field behind it that are not doing as well). 'Mandarin' is 1/4 R. parvifolius, a species that is native to Asia. 

'Mandarin' is not available from nurseries, the fruit is small and soft and the yields are low, so it can not compete with newer varieties. However, we are using 'Mandarin' and some of its relatives in our program and are making progress in finding a heat tolerant variety with good fruit traits.