Red drupelet disorder, Australia updated powerpoint

Max Edgley, from the University of Tasmania, sent me this updated power point last week.

He looked at physical damage, N levels (low/medium/high), cooling temperature treatments. His preliminary data suggests:

• Physical damage increases red drupelet numbers
• High N application during harvest had higher numbers of red drupelets
• Staged cooling (precooling and cooling) had less red drupelets than just one cooling temperature.

For more details on specifics of this work,  see his presentation at:

http://www.utas.edu.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0009/856422/Red-Drupelet-disorder-update-June-2016.pdf

Red drupelet disorder

Red drupelets in blackberry fruit harvested in the afternoon. Upper image is showing more than 15% red drupelets. Lower image is a mild case. Upper image PPV, lower image GF.

Now that we are reaching peak harvest and peak summer temperatures, red drupelet disorder is starting to appear in harvested fruit. After the fruit is harvested, individual black drupetlets will revert back to a red color. Red druplet disorder is also called reversion, reddening or red cell. Penny Perkins-Veazie has worked on this problem for several years. Here are some of her thoughts:

- Harvest before 10 am, get to cooler within an hour of harvest. 
- Remove heat quickly or delay field heat development.
- Forced air cool may need to be set 5 F higher than usual to avoid excess coldness at top of pallet.
-Semi truck loads tend to have more red drupe at front end (near rig) and at top due to air movement and nearness to cooling units.
-Least susceptible variety continues to be Navaho.  Those showing problems are Natchez, Tupi.  Ouachita can be problematic if rainfall has been high and harvest is going into afternoon.
-I'm not sure about PrimeArk 45 or Osage.  The new 'crispy' type does not seem to get red drupe, indicating a firmness/cell wall component in color reversion.
-A 15% red drupe (color reversion) in the load is considered the limit to avoid rejection.  
-Trellising or using E-W row orientation helps to keep fruit in shade longer, decreases exposure to light/heating.  (GF: our shift/RCA trellises seem to have less red and white druplets in general)
-We are not yet sure of production practice issues on red drupe although some reports with tunnel grown blackberries indicate keeping nitrogen rates lower and avoiding heat buildup help with the problem.
-Environmental possibilities for exacerbating the problem seem to be water stress (high rainfall within a few days of harvest, or high rainfall in spring followed by very hot temperatures), nitrogen imbalance, and possibly calcium/potassium availability.

Max Edgley, from the University of Tasmania, has an excellent slide show on this disorder. Max attended the Rubus and Ribes Symposium last year and has shared some of his findings here:

http://www.utas.edu.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0003/792363/Red-drupelet-disorder-Presentation.pdf

A Great New Way To Get Your Choice of USDA-AMS (Agricultural Marketing Service) Information

Jeffrey Davis from USDA-AMS (Agricultural Marketing Service) has encouraged me to share this information with both Extension personnel and growers. The USDA-AMS has started a new email subscription service to help you have access to more of the all the useful AMS information.  The service allows you to choose how many programs you will receive information from. For example, I subscribe to the Specialty Crops Program. And today they sent me a notice about a webinar the Supply Reports Branch, is hosting next week. They will have a group of panelists that will help explain the Terminal Market, Shipping Point, Retail, Local, International, Movement, and Organic reports. Here is the information to sign up:

"USDA’s Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) is pleased to announce that we have implemented a new email subscription service to make it easier for you to learn about updates on the topics which interest you. We will continue to send you emails on everything from upcoming Specialty Crops Program (SCP) webinars, informational Market News updates, and our SCP newsletters. 

Our new platform will allow you to receive important e-mail notices containing the latest information about AMS program areas of interest to you.  You’ll have quick access to material regarding new opportunities from our Marketing Orders & Agreements Division (MOAD), Promotion & Economics Division (PED), Specialty Crops Inspection Division (SCID), Specialty Crop Market News (MN) and our Perishable Agricultural Commodities Act (PACA) Division.  Best of all: you will be in complete control over what information you receive! 

Do I need to do anything?

No, we will continue to send you timely, relevant information on all of the important AMS programs & services that you have received in the past. Starting today though, the emails will be coming from our new email subscription service GovDelivery. If you would like to customize the topics that you are subscribed to follow these three simple steps:

Step 1: Customize your GovDelivery Subscriber Preferences

Access your account preferences here: https://public.govdelivery.com/accounts/USDAAMS/subscriber/new?preferences=true
Enter your e-mail address and click the “Submit” button.  Click the “Preferences” tab, choose your e-mail delivery preferences, and enter an optional password (highly recommended).
Click the “Submit” button.
Step 2: Choose Your Topics of Interest

Note: We have already selected topics that you have already shown interest in, so take a moment to review those selections.

Click the “Subscriptions” tab, and then click the “Add Subscriptions” link.
Browse the “Subscription Topics” categories and topics of interest.  Click on the “+” sign to expand categories and topics.
If you want to receive e-mail updates on a particular category or topic, click the checkbox next to that category or topic.  If you choose a category, you’ll receive updates for all the topics under that category.
Save your topics by clicking the “Submit” button at the bottom of the page.
Step 3: Get the Updates You Want

When AMS has new information to share related to any of the categories or topics you chose, we will e-mail that information to you.

Who Can I Contact If I Have Questions?

E-mail questions related to your subscription to Jeff Davis

Jeffrey Davis
Business Development Specialist
Specialty Crops Program
USDA/Agricultural Marketing Service
1400 Independence Ave SW
Stop 0236, Room 2085-S
Washington, DC   20250
Direct  (202) 260-9519
Cell      (202) 306-2673
Fax      (202) 720-0016
jeffrey.davis4@ams.usda.gov