New raspberry and blackberries to trial?

The USDA caneberry breeding program in Corvallis Oregon has recently released one raspberry , 'Kokanee' a red raspberry primocane fruiting type that has done well in Mexico. And 3 floricane fruiting blackberry cultivars ' Galaxy', 'Eclipse' and ORUS4370-1 (name to be determined soon).  There is also one primocane fruiting blackberry that is under trial that is looking good. They that are worth trailing in south and southeastern US. 'Eclipse' has done well in small plots at the Piedmont Research Station in Salisbury NC. Here is the information on each cultivar in a series of slides.

Winter Caneberry Checklist 2017-18

This checklist was originally developed for blackberry growers in North Carolina. Many of the items apply to raspberry production as well. You may have to adjust your work activities either earlier or later depending on your location. For more detailed information, check the Southern Region Integrated Bramble Management Guide and the Southeast Regional Bramble Production Guide at: http://www.smallfruits.org/SmallFruitsRegGuide/index.htm.

Check the items off as they get done. This list is very general, but should help get you to think about what types of activities occur at various times of the year. If you would like other items to be added to this list, send them to me and I will add them next time.

WINTER 

Plant growth and development

• Plant is not visibly growing during the winter months although many blackberries will retain their leaves through the winter
• Some differentiation is occurring in the flower buds
• Low chilling cultivars can break bud in January after adequate winter chilling. You can monitor chilling hours accumulated in eight states in the eastern US by accessing this site: cronos/blackberry/chill_model
• Developmental stages at this time of year as mentioned in the PM guide are : 1. Dormant 2. Delayed dormant (swollen bud) to green tip

Pruning and trellising

• Pruning should occur in late winter.  However, in some areas winter ice storms can do tremendous damage to plants and trellis systems. If you produce blackberries in one of these areas, pruning can take place early winter to help avoid severe damage
• Make trellis repairs after plants have defoliated but before pruning and training.
• Erect types
• Prune out the spent floricanes
• Tie canes to wires in a fan shape
• Cut lateral branches back to 8-12”
• Thin canes to 6-8 canes/ hill (4 ft spacing)
• Trailing types
• Prune out spent floricanes
• Tie or weave canes to wire so that they do not overlap
• Prune side laterals to 12-18”
• Thin canes to 6-8 hill (6-8ft spacing)
• Primocane fruiting raspberries and blackberries
• Prune (mow) primocane fruiting types to ground level

Weed control

Check the Southern Regional Bramble integrated Management Guide for recommendations. www.smallfruits.org

• 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 local extension agent for cultural or chemical means to control these weeds. 

Insect and disease scouting

Check the Southern Regional Bramble integrated Management Guide for recommendations. www.smallfruits.org

• Scout fields for insect and disease damage and remove those canes
• Remove wild blackberries and raspberries by the roots if they are within 600 ft of your planting during the winter 

Planting

• Take soil tests to determine fertility needs for spring plantings. 
• There are some new raspberry and blackberry cultivars available each year. If you have not tried them or it is not know how they will do in your region, it is best to order a small quantity to see how well they will perform in your area
• For larger growers, prepare list of cultivars for 2015 plantings and order now. Smaller quantities of plants can be order in early 2014 for spring 2014 planting
• A commercial small fruit nursery lists at 
• NARBA’s nursery list at www.raspberryblackberry.com/ for-growers/
• For a comprehensive small fruit nursery list, see https:// blogs.cornell.edu/berrynurseries/

Water management

• Make repairs to irrigation system (check pumps, lines, etc)
• Plants generally do not need supplemental water in winter 

Marketing and miscellaneous

• Order containers for next season
• Make contacts for selling fruit next season

Attend grower meetings

North American Raspberry and Blackberry Association is in Ventura, CA. Feb 21-24

http://www.raspberryblackberry.com/north-american-raspberry-blackberry-conference-2018/ 

North Carolina Commercial Blackberry and Raspberry Association. Feb 13, 2018. 

Meeting will be held at the Cleveland County Extension Auditorium, 130 S. Post Rd; Shelby, NC 28152. Please arrive in time to set up prior to the start of the meeting. Contact Daniel Shires for more information. (704) 482-4365

Cold Injury in Caneberries

Temperatures on Jan 2, 2018 at 3 am in NC, SC and part of GA.  Source:http://www.nc-climate.ncsu.edu/map/ 

Last week many areas of the southern US experienced some very cold temperatures and in some locations closer to the coast there was some significant snow accumulation.

We are monitoring our berry crops, strawberry crowns at Central Crops Research Station looked good late last week. The crowns were creamy white when we sliced them open.

I will be in Savannah at the SE Regional Fruit and VegetableConference if you want to bring in some caneberry samples, we can look at them together. I don't expect to see bud damage at this point, but there may be some damage to the canes.

I have posted information on caneberry winter injury several times in the past. Here is a link to all the posts, there are numerous pictures to help you identify potential cold injury.

https://teamrubus.blogspot.com/search?q=winter+injury

Blackberry harvest prediction WE NEED YOUR HELP

Every year blackberry growers struggle with predicting when their fruit will be ready to harvest. Marketers want to know when and how much fruit you will have during the harvest season.

Harvest prediction models for other crops have used heat units/growing degree days in combination with phenology (flowering and fruiting dates) with reasonable success. In cooperation with the NC State Climate Office (SCO), we are gathering data to help growers predict harvest dates based on accumulated heat units.

We need your help. Can you dig up first harvest and peak harvest of Ouachita for multiple years?  The model will be better if we can get dates from a number of locations, over a number of years and compare that to the heat units that have been recorded that year.

Please complete the short survey for your farm. You can fill it out more than one time for multiple years and multiple cultivars, even multiple fields if you know there is a difference in ripening times. We would like data for Ouachita primarily, but will take other cultivars if you are sorting through your records and have those dates as well.

https://goo.gl/forms/rPm7XdOCqhEvsk8D3

Questions? Contact Gina_Fernandez@ncsu.edu

Arkansas Blackberry School

Southern region blackberry growers. Here is a great webinar series produced by the University of Arkansas. It covers the basics of production, pests, pruning etc on a quarterly basis.

https://www.uaex.edu/farm-ranch/crops-commercial-horticulture/horticulture/commercial-fruit-production/blackberry-school.aspx

Southern Region Small Fruit Consortium Fall 2017 Newsltter

For a link to this newsletter click here:

http://www.smallfruits.org/assets/documents/sfn/Vol17-Issue4.pdf

Caneberry Fall Checklist (Chores)

Blackberry and Raspberry Seasonal Checklist Fall 2017

Gina Fernandez, Small Fruit Specialist, North Carolina State University

Check out the new look to the Southern Region Small Fruit Consortium website at: http://www.smallfruits.org/

FALL

Plant growth and development

ü  Primocanes continue to grow but growth rate is slower

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

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

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

ü  Primocane leaves senesce late fall

Harvest

ü  Primocane-fruiting raspberry harvest continues

ü  Primocane-fruiting blackberry harvest continues

Pruning, trellising and tunnels

ü  Spent floricanes should be removed as soon as possible

ü  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).

ü  Start trellis repairs after plants have defoliated

ü  Remove covers on three-season tunnels

Weed management

ü  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

ü  Continue scouting for insects and diseases

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

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

Planting

ü  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

ü  Prepare a list of cultivars for next spring’s new plantings. Find commercial caneberry nursery lists at

§  https://www.uaex.edu/farm-ranch/crops-commercial-horticulture/horticulture/docs/UofA-Fruit-Patent-Licensed-Propagators.pdf

§  http://www.fruit.cornell.edu/berry/nurseries/

Fertilizer

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

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

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

Marketing and miscellaneous

ü  Order containers for next season

ü  Make contacts for selling fruit next season

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

• North American Raspberry and Blackberry Association
• February 21-24, 2018: North American Raspberry & Blackberry Conference, Ventura, California. A not-to-be-missed meeting, in a great location! Mark your calendar, and watch for more information. Opening reception Feb. 21, tour on Feb. 22, and educational sessions and tradeshow on Feb 23-24. The conference will be at  the Ventura Beach Marriott.  You can already make online hotel reservations under our group rate.
•  
• Southeast Regional Conference and Tradeshow, Savannah, GA January 11-12, 2018
• Sessions on blackberry and strawberry, blueberry, muscadines and more!

o   Caneberry Sessions Organized by NARBA. Program coming soon; contact NARBA for details. The conference includes tracks for peaches, blueberries, strawberries, organics, vegetables, and more. For more conference info, registration, and hotel reservations, visit www.seregionalconference.com

Key Resources:

Southern Region Integrated Bramble Management Guide:

http://www.smallfruits.org/assets/documents/ipm-guides/2017/2017BrambleSprayGuide-50717.pdf

Southeast Regional Bramble (Caneberry) Production Guide: http://www.smallfruits.org/ipm-guides.html

Blackberry and Raspberry Grower Information

·      Portal at NCSU: http://rubus.ces.ncsu.edu

·      University of Arkansas https://www.uaex.edu/farm-ranch/crops-commercial-horticulture/horticulture/commercial-fruit-production/blackberries-production.aspx

Social Media links:

Twitter: @NCTeamRubus  

Facebook : Team Rubus   

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