Evaluation of Blackberry Varieties in Virginia

Transcription

1 Evlution of Blckerry Vrieties in Virgini Puliction HORT-226P Mikel Ann Conwy, Mster s Student, Horticulture, Hmpton Rods Agriculturl Reserch nd Extension Center Jyesh B. Smtni, Assistnt Professor, Horticulture, nd Smll Fruit Extension Specilist, Hmpton Rods Agriculturl Reserch nd Extension Center Blckerries (Ruus spp.) re of interest mong strwerry nd vegetle growers in Virgini looking to diversify their crops. Including lckerries in frm plns could llow these growers to keep their frms nd pick-your-own ctivities open to customers for longer durtion, incresing gritourism nd sles; however, Virgini growers lck informtion on lckerry vrieties tht perform well in the stte. To ddress this need, on-frm oservtionl vriety evlutions were conducted t four grower sites in Virgini (Chrlotte Court House, Mechnicsville, Virgini Bech, nd Willimsurg) during the 2014 growing seson to evlute yield,, nd degrees Brix (sugr content) of estlished lckerry vrieties. Higher yields were oserved for thornless vriety Chester ; however, its ws smller nd hd lower degrees Brix content. Lrger-sized fruits were identified for the thorny vrieties Kiow nd Chicksw. The study findings provide vlule insight, ssisting growers with vriety selection. Need for the Study Blckerries re flvorful, fruiting with high profit mrgin potentil, nd the temperte climte of Virgini with USDA plnt hrdiness zones 6, 7, or 8 (USDA 2012) provides climte conducive for lckerry production. According to the 2012 U.S. Deprtment of Agriculture s (2015) Census of Agriculture, in the Commonwelth of Virgini, 24 percent (269 cres) of totl erry crege ws lckerry cultivtion. The demnd for lckerries is strong, in prt ecuse lckerries re low-ft nd rich in ntioxidnts. They re sought fter for their nutrceuticl properties. Also, consumers hve shown incresed interest in locl foods nd fresh produce, including erries from re growers. In the 2014 growing seson, on-frm studies were conducted t four grower sites with the ojective of evluting performnce of existing lckerry vrieties t vrious loctions in Virgini. Becuse there is lck of documented dt on vrietl performnce of lckerries in Virgini, the gol ws to identify vrieties tht perform well in the region s climte. Findings from this study will e eneficil to growers mking vriety selections in Virgini nd other Midnd South Atlntic sttes with similr USDA hrdiness zones. Study Detils In June 2014, nonreplicted, nonrndomized study ws conducted t four frm loctions; dt on lckerry yield,, nd degrees Brix were collected. The frms were locted in Chrlotte Court House, Mechnicsville, Virgini Bech, nd Willimsurg, Virgini. Study sites were chosen fter considering vrious logisticl fctors, including interest of the prticipting grower in the study, presence of two or more vrieties of similr ge t frm sites, lor vilility to pick fruits during hrvest seson, nd isoltion of the suject from customers t frms tht offered pick-your-own options to their customers. Attempts were mde to ensure tht ll vrieties were of similr ge nd suject to similr microclimte conditions nd culturl prctices t ech frm loction. Nine vrieties were evluted; however, not ll vrieties were present t ll loctions. Sites were mintined y the grower s per commercil Produced y Communictions nd Mrketing, College of Agriculture nd Life Sciences, Virgini Tech, 2016 Virgini Coopertive Extension progrms nd employment re open to ll, regrdless of ge, color, disility, gender, gender identity, gender expression, ntionl origin, politicl ffilition, rce, religion, sexul orienttion, genetic informtion, vetern sttus, or ny other sis protected y lw. An equl opportunity/ffirmtive ction employer. Issued in furthernce of Coopertive Extension work, Virgini Polytechnic Institute nd Stte University, Virgini Stte University, nd the U.S. Deprtment of Agriculture cooperting. Edwin J. Jones, Director, Virgini Coopertive Extension, Virgini Tech, Blcksurg; M. Ry McKinnie, Interim Administrtor, 1890 Extension Progrm, Virgini Stte University, Petersurg. VT/0916/HORT-226P

2 grower prctices. Vrieties evluted were Ruus spp. Apche, Arpho, Chester, Chicksw, Kiow, Ntchez, Nvho, Ouchit, nd Triple Crown. Seven of these vrieties were relesed y the University of Arknss; Triple Crown nd Chester were relesed y the USDA. The mjority of vrieties evluted hd n erect growth hit; exceptions were Chester, Ntchez, nd Triple Crown, which hd semi-erect growth hit. With the exception of Chicksw nd Kiow, ll vrieties hd thornless cnes. These vrieties were trined on stndrd T-trellis t ll loctions. Only Apche, in Mechnicsville, ws trined on two trellis systems, stndrd T-trellis nd rotting cross-rm trellis. At ech site, dt were collected on multiple per vriety (fig. 1). Figure 2. Mrketle U.S. No. 1 or erries of Chester. Figure 1. Blckerry suject of single vriety were mrked to refrin customers from picking erries from which dt were collected. Figure 3. Unclssified erries of Triple Crown. decy, or dmge y insects or other mechnicl mens. U.S. No. 2 erries re erries tht fil to meet the requirements of U.S. No. 1 erries. They do not contin more thn 10 percent, y volume, of erries tht re seriously dmged y ny cuse nd not more thn 2 percent of erries tht re ffected y mold nd decy. Unclssified (unmrketle) erries cnnot e used for processing or locl or shipping mrkets (USDA 1997). Informtion on yer of relese for ech vriety, totl numer of hrvested per vriety, plnt spcing, ge of, rinfll received during hrvest for ech loction, nd dt collected during the course of study re presented in tles 1 to 4. At pickyour-own loctions in Willimsurg nd Virgini Bech, lckerries were hrvested twice week y reserch personnel. At grower-picked sites, hrvesting schedules vried. which included U.S. No. 1 (commonly known s ), U.S. No. 2, nd unclssified erries ws mesured using digitl scle (figs. 2 nd 3). Degrees Brix nd were ssessed using five rndomly selected erries chosen from good representtion of ech individul hrvest for ech vriety (fig. 4). This dt is lso presented in tles 1 through 4. Due to the nonrndomized nd nonreplicted nture of the study, we were unle to run n nlysis for men seprtion on the dt, nd dt presented re solely oservtionl in nture. Dt on erries nd totl yield per plnt re listed in tles 1 through 4. U.S. No. 1 erries re considered firm, developed ut not overripe, nd drk lck in color. They re free from disese, 2

3 rotting cross-rm trellis hd high degrees Brix reding, while Kiow nd Chicksw produced lrge-sized fruits. For the erly ering vrieties, oserved yields for Kiow nd Chicksw (thorny) were higher (12.1 nd 8.9 pounds totl yield per plnt, respectively) thn Ntchez nd Ouchit (thornless). For lte-seson vrieties, the yield for Chester ws higher thn for Triple Crown. Apche grown with the support of rotting crossrm trellis hd higher yield (3.4 pounds totl yield per plnt) thn Apche grown using stndrd T- trellis (2.6 pounds totl yield per plnt). Figure 4. The size of fruit ws mesured with vernier cliper scle. Findings nd Discussion Chrlotte Court House Oserved yields were comprle for ll three vrieties, ut totl yield per plnt ws lower for Ouchit (tle 1). Vlues for degrees Brix nd fruit size were high for Ouchit. The grower t Chrlotte Court House used folir nutrient ppliction (Sugr Express), which might hve resulted in incresed degrees Brix redings over other loctions for Nvho nd Ouchit. Mechnicsville Yield vlues indicte tht Chester ws highyielding vriety (31.9 pounds totl yield per plnt) ut with smller size erry nd lower degrees Brix reding thn other vrieties. Apche grown on Virgini Bech Yield vlues were high for Chester (4.5-yer-old ) over Triple Crown. The older plntings of Triple Crown (15-yer-old ) hd the highest degrees Brix vlue (10.7), while oserved vlue for ws comprle for ll three vrieties. Willimsurg Nvho yield ws high (4.8 pounds totl yield per plnt). Vlues of degrees Brix (10.8) nd (1.1 squre inch) for Ntchez were higher thn other vrieties. Yield dt nd performnce of vrieties could hve een ffected y mny environmentl nd culturl fctors, including rinfll, soil properties, fertigtion prctices, plnt spcing, pruning, nd snittion prctices. Our oservtions suggest tht the colder climtes of Mechnicsville nd Chrlotte Court House seemed to hve higher yields thn the costl loctions. The mrketle-yield-to-totl-yield rtio Tle 1. Vrietl informtion nd dt collected t Chrlotte Court House, Virgini, during the 2014 growing seson. Vriety Yer of relese Hrvest Rinfll Chester /29-9/4 4.0 Nvho /3-8/ Ouchit /26-8/ All vrieties were 2 yers old nd plced t 4-foot in- row spcing. 3

4 Tle 2. Vrietl informtion nd dt collected t Mechnicsville, Virgini, during the 2014 growing seson. Vriety Yer of relese Hrvest Rinfll Apche (RCA c ) /10-8/7 1.5 Apche /10-8/7 1.5 Chester /10-9/8 4.4 Chicksw /18-8/1 3.0 Kiow /27-8/7 1.6 Ntchez /18-7/ Ouchit /27-8/4 1.6 Triple Crown /4-8/7 1.6 All vrieties were 5 to 6 yers old nd plced t 3-foot in- row spcing. c Rotting cross rm trellis. All other vrieties were trined on stndrd T-trellis. Tle 3. Vrietl informtion nd dt collected t Virgini Bech, Virgini, during the 2014 growing seson. Vriety Yer of relese (ls/plnt) Hrvest Rinfll Chester c /3-8/ Triple Crown (Y d ) /3-8/ Triple Crown (O e ) /3-8/ All vrieties were plced t 5-foot in- row spcing. c Chester plntings were 4.5 yers old. d Y refers to younger Triple Crown plntings t grower site tht were 4.5 yers old. e O refers to older Triple Crown plntings tht were 15 yers old. Tle 4. Vrietl informtion nd dt collected t Willimsurg, Virgini, during the 2014 growing seson. Vriety Yer of relese Hrvest Rinfll Arpho /23-8/7 6.2 Ntchez /19-7/ Nvho /26-8/ Ouchit /23-8/7 6.2 Triple Crown /02-8/ All vrieties were 6 yers old nd plced t 1.5-foot in -row spcing. 4

5 ws lso higher in colder climte loctions for ll vrieties grown. The Chester mrketle-yield-tototl-yield rtio ws 0.7 t Chrlotte Court House nd Mechnicsville, nd it ws 0.4 t Virgini Bech. The mrketle-yield-to-totl-yield rtio for Ouchit ws 0.9 t Chrlotte Court House nd 0.5 t Willimsurg. Insect pressure for spotted winged drosophil (Drosophil suzukii) nd Jpnese eetle (Popilli jponic) ws higher t costl sites. These sites lso received more rinfll for the durtion of the ering seson (tles 1-4). The two costl sites in Virgini Bech nd Willimsurg offered pick yourown options to their customers. Additionlly, yields per plnt t Willimsurg might hve een ffected y closer in-row plnt spcing. Summry There hs een n incresing interest in estlishing lckerries in Virgini frms. This study findings provide vlule insight, ssisting growers with vriety selection. For exmple, growers interested in high yields should consider Chester (fig. 5), while Figure 5. Chester erries in vrious ripening stges. lrge-size fruits were oserved in the thorny vrieties Chicksw nd Kiow. Grower Suggestions Using pick-your -own hrvesting cn e chllenge for growers trying to keep up with clen picking the (i.e., picking ll ripe erries off the plnt s well s ny disesed, misshpen, or dmged fruit). Customers only pick the most ttrctive fruit locted t the optiml cne height. Unless growers go ck nd pick the remining ripe fruits from erry following the pick your own ctivity of customers, unpicked fruits ecome overripe nd decy. Most growers refrin from this snittion prctice primrily ecuse of lor shortges nd costs involved. Decying erry fruit will serve s host for insects nd diseses. This in turn leds to n increse in the numer of pesticide sprys needed during hrvest seson to keep insect nd disese dmge under check. Production costs go up with incresing pesticide sprys. The grower cn help reduce some of these issues through proper frm plnning strtegies tht include putting creful thought into the numer of tht one cn mnge nd the needs of the mrket. Growers must follow recommended in-row spcing to improve irflow. This spcing for thorny lckerry vrieties is 3 feet; for thornless lckerries, the spcing is 4 to 6 feet (Demchk 2013). The dt presented here were collected t grower sites in single hrvest seson. The vrieties were not replicted over spce or time, nd so it is possile tht the performnces of vrieties could vry over yers. Nonetheless, given tht there is no documented dt on performnce of commercilly grown vrieties in Virgini, the study findings provide vlule insight, ssisting growers with vriety selection. Those interested in keeping strwerry frm stnds nd pick-your-own opertions open for longer durtions of time, should consider the erly seson fruiting vrieties nd use the oserved dt from this study s n indictor of wht the vriety-ering potentil could e. Acknowledgments Funding for this study ws provided y the Virgini Agriculturl Council. The uthors would like to extend their grtitude to Kelly Jcoson nd Sydney Covey. Specil pprecition for use of estlished crops nd on site lnd ccess is extended to Roert Jones, Lorri nd Dve Brron, Pierson Geyer, Junit nd Roert Burns, nd Bill Apperson. Their knowledge nd guidnce provided during the development of this reserch study is gretly pprecited. 5

6 Thnks lso to Dr. Hnnh Burrck, Dr. Chrles Johnson, nd Roy Flngn III for reviewing this puliction. References Demchk, K., ed Brmles. In The Mid-Atlntic Berry Guide for Commercil Growers, , Puliction Code AGRS-097. University Prk, PA: Penn Stte Coopertive Extension. USDA (U.S. Deprtment of Agriculture). (1928) United Sttes Stndrds for Grdes of Dewerries nd Blckerries. defult/files/medi/fresh_dewerry-blckerry_ Stndrd%5B1%5D.pdf. USDA-ARS (U.S. Deprtment of Agriculture), Agriculturl Reserch Service USDA Plnt Hrdiness Zone Mp. U.S. Deprtment of Agriculture. Census of Agriculture Census Volume 1, Chpter 1: Stte Level Dt Virgini. www. gcensus.usd.gov/pulictions/2012/full_report/ Volume_1_Chpter_1_Stte_Level/Virgini/ 6