Request for Proposals for 2015 Funding

A reminder....

The North American Bramble Growers Research Foundation (NABGRF) Inc. seeks proposals for bramble research for the year 2015. All bramble proposals will be considered. However special consideration will be given to proposals related to the specific priorities established for this round of funding.   Pest Management Strategies Management and biology of Spotted Wing Drosophila (SWD) Management and biology of Brown Marmorated Stink Bug (BMSB) Management (?) of Agrobacterium tumefaciens (crown gall) Evaluate new insecticides (pesticides) for blackberry and raspberry production.   Production Efficiency and Profitability Management of blackberries and raspberries in tunnels (pruning, training and trellis systems) Post-harvest handling for small farmers Cultivar Development and Testing Germplasm development Special Needs Marketing Since 1999, NABGRF has funded a total of 76 proposals totaling $184,572. Funding for individual projects is expected to range from $2000-$5000. In order to expedite the process, we ask that your request stay within this range. Please note that the NABGRF does not  pay overhead or "indirect" costs. The major source of funds for NABGRF's research grants is contributions by nurseries to NABGRF's Nursery Contribution Program, initiated in 2007. The Foundation very much appreciates their support Proposals will be reviewed by the Research Committee of the NABGRF by the next North American Raspberry & Blackberry Association annual meeting, February 24-27, 2015 in Fayetteville, AR. The Research Committee will forward their recommendations to the NABGRF Board of Trustees. Final funding decisions are made by the Board of Trustees. Notice of awards will be sent out in March 2015. For more information, email either of the NABGRF  Research Co-Coordinators, Gina Fernandez and Jeff Chandler. The deadline for proposals is December 20, 2014. Proposal Guidelines Sending Proposals: Email your proposal as a PDF file to gina_fernandez@ncsu.edu by the deadline above.

Nursery List from NARBA

The North American Raspberry and Blackberry Association has compiled a list of nurseries that are members of their organization.  Here is a link to their list
http://www.raspberryblackberry.com/webdocs/2014-2015CaneberryNurseryList.pdf

Fall Caneberry Checklist/Chores 2014

FALL

Plant growth and development

·      Primocanes continue to grow but growth rate is slower

·      Flower buds start to form in leaf axils on summer-fruiting types

·      Carbohydrates and nutrients in canes begin to move into the roots

·      Primocane fruiting types begin to flower in late summer/early fall and fruit matures until frost in fall

·      Primocane leaves senesce late fall

Harvest

·      Primocane-fruiting raspberry harvest ends  when there is a hard freeze

·      Primocane-fruiting blackberry harvest late summer/early fall

Pruning, trellising and tunnels

·      Spent floricanes should be removed as soon as possible

·      Optimal time to prune is after the coldest part of the season is over. However pruning can start in late fall if plantings are large (late winter for smaller plantings).

·      Start trellis repairs after plants have defoliated

·      Remove covers on three-season tunnels

Weed management

·      Many summer weed problems can be best managed in the fall and winter using preemergent herbicides. Determine what weeds have been or could be a problem in your area. Check with your states agricultural chemical manual and local extension agent for the best-labeled chemicals to control these weeds.

Insect and disease scouting

·      Continue scouting for insects and diseases.

·      Remove damaged canes as soon as possible to lessen the impact of the pest.

·      Check the Southern Regional Bramble integrated Management Guide for recommendations.  http://www.smallfruits.org

Planting

·      Growers in warmer areas (e.g. extreme southeastern NC) can plant into early December.  Preparations for winter planting should have already been made. If you have questions about winter planting please contact your local county extension agent

·      In cooler areas, prepare list of ­cultivars for next spring’s new plantings. Find a commercial small fruit nursery list at http://www.fruit.cornell.edu/berry/nurseries/

Fertilizer

·      Take soil tests to determine fertility needs for spring plantings.

·      Non-nitrogenous fertilizers are best applied in the fall to established plantings.

·      If soil is bare, plant an overwintering cover crop (e.g. rye) to build organic matter and slow soil erosion.

Marketing and miscellaneous

·      Order containers for next season

·      Make contacts for selling fruit next season

Make plans to attend Grower meetings! Blackberries and raspberries are part or all of these programs.

• The 2015 North American Raspberry & Blackberry Conference will be held in Fayetteville, Arkansas, on February 24-27, 2015. For more information and an sneak peek at the program: http://www.raspberryblackberry.com/local.cfm?doc=webdocs/2015Conference Overview.htm
• Southeast Regional Conference and Tradeshow, with sessions on blackberry

January 8-9, 2015, at the Savannah International Trade and Convention Center http://www.seregionalconference.com/educational-sessions/

Key Resources:

Southern Region Integrated Bramble Management Guide and the Southeast Regional Bramble Production Guide: http://www.smallfruits.org/SmallFruitsRegGuide/index.htm

Blackberry and Raspberry Grower Information Portal:

http://rubus.ces.ncsu.edu

Social Media links:

Twitter: @NCTeamRubus  

Facebook : Team Rubus   

Blogs: http://teamrubus.blogspot.com/

Fingerprinting Raspberries and Blackberries

This past summer Team Rubus presented a poster, "Who’s your raspberry daddy?" at two Research Station field days in June. And in August, we presented another poster titled "Comparative diversity analysis of Southeastern Rubus germplasm through molecular and pedigree techniques" at the International Horticultural Congress. Although the titles of the presentations were different, the presentations were essentially the same. Both were discussing how our breeding program has incorporated fingerprinting technology into our program. Below is a brief synopsis of this work.

Why do we need fingerprints?
- Can sort mix ups in research and grower fields and nurseries
- Distinguish between closely related varieties
- Potential patent protection (not used yet for Rubus)
- Determine how diverse germplasm is in a breeding program

How do we produce fingerprints?
- Collect young leaf samples in spring or summer
- Extract DNA from leaves, and tag each plant using 6 DNA markers that are specific to red raspberry (Bassil et al.)

Results

- Each genotype/variety/cultivar will have a unique profile  or "fingerprint" for the 6 DNA markers

- The "fingerprint" of each sample is matched to a reference profile in our database, to ensure it is true to type (actually the genotype/cultivar/variety which it is labelled as).

This is a slide from one of the presentations. The first picture shows some of the leaf tissue​, ​mortar​ and pestle​ (old fashion way to grind the tissue), the second picture is of extracted DNA in ​test tubes being prepared for analyses. ​T​he 3rd image is of a PCR printout, and the green bands and blue bands represent ​the DNA fragments, separated by size.  Green and blue are two different markers, which are analyzed simultaneously.​

Here is an example what the data looks like from our selection NC 654 which is a cross between Mandarin (mom) and Willamette (dad). For the DNA marker Meek19, Mandarin, peaks at 170/186, and Willamette, peaks at 170/174.  NC 654 (child) peaks at 170/174.  We can verify that Mandarin and Willamette are indeed the parents of NC 654 using Meek 19, whereby the 170 peaks comes from Mandarin and the 174 peak comes from Willamette. This combination of peaks is unique to NC 654. 

In addition, through some modifications of the established protocol for red raspberry, we were able to determine that we could use these same markers for black raspberry and blackberry.


Bassil NV, Nyberg A, Hummer KE, Graham J, Dosset M, Finn CE. A Universal Fingerprinting Set for Red Raspberry. Proc. Xth Intl. Rubus and Ribes Symp. Acta Hort. 946. ISHS: 2012.

Blackberry On-Farm Field Day

From: Daniel Shires, Area Ag. Extension Agent

When: Friday October 10, 2014

Time: 1:00 PM to 3:30PM

Location:
Killdeer Farms,

300 Goforth Road

Kings Mountain, NC 28086

On behalf of the NC Commercial Blackberry and Raspberry Growers Association and the NC Cooperative Extension Service you are invited to attend our upcoming Fall Blackberry Field Day. This will be a great opportunity to learn from Extension Specialists and see equipment demonstration on a real-life farm setting. The field day is free to anyone who wishes to attend. Since this is an outside event: dress appropriately and bring a lawn chair if you wish. Please RSVP to Annie Thompson (Extension Secretary) at
704-482-4365 by Wednesday October 8^th if you plan on attending.

Agenda:

1:00 to 1:15…Registration

1:15 to 1:30…Welcome from Ervin Lineberger, Killdeer Farms

1:30 to 2:00…Spotted Wing Drosophila (Lauren Diepenbrock & Katie Swoboda, NCSU)              

2:00 to 2:30…Hand-washing stations and mobile cooling unit (Daniel Shires, NCCE)

2:30 to 3:00…New Herbicides (Wayne Mitchem, NCSU)

3:00 to 3:30…Disease vs Virus (Andy Rollins, Clemson Extension)

Evaluation of raspberries for tunnel and field production in North Carolina

Evaluation of raspberries for tunnel and field production in North Carolina

Penelope Perkins-Veazie and Gina Fernandez

Introduction

Raspberries are a highly popular fruit with consumers, and also a high value crop for producers.  One of the major limitations to production in North Carolina is heat.  Raspberry plants often respond to heat stress by reducing fruit size.  Also, the warm temperatures encountered during harvest can lead to a very short postharvest loss, as berries are softer and easier to bruise when harvested warm.  In this multi-year study, raspberry cultivars and NC breeding selections were evaluated in high tunnel and field production systems.

Harvest and Handling:  Pick firm fruit and place in shallow vented containers. Red raspberries can be harvested when pink and come off the plant with minimal tugging. The most often used container is a plastic ½ pint with vents in top, bottom, and sides to aid air flow. Containers for raspberries should be shallow, as only a few layers of berries should be in the box to prevent fruit collapse and leaking.  The best time to pick raspberries is early in the morning, while fruit are still cool.  Picking wet raspberries after rainfall or heavy dew is not recommended as the shelf life quickly drops.

Raspberries can be cooled at temperatures slightly below freezing (31 F) as the high sugar content acts as an anti-freeze.  It is better to cool fruit soon after harvest and hold raspberries below 40°F as long as possible.  If cooling is delayed, storage life is lost in proportion to the delay (a one hour delay can mean a one day loss in shelf life). 

Best cultivars and selections for postharvest life when grown in North Carolina. These suggestions are based on several years trials at research stations in NC. Check http://rubus.ces.ncsu.edu for yield data of these selections and cultivars. Note that some yield data is still being collected in fall 2014.

Cultivar/selection           

10-14 day shelf life if held at 35°F within 2 hours from harvest

NC344 

Octavia

Polka

Joan J

MacBlack             

7-10 day shelf life            

NC548                                      

Nantahala

Caroline                                 

For local use only (less than 5 days)

Latham

HimboTop
Tulamagic

Capital Press | Spring worries yield to solid raspberry crop in Washington State

Capital Press | Spring worries yield to solid raspberry crop