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ARS Home » Pacific West Area » Corvallis, Oregon » Horticultural Crops Research Unit » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #188455
Title: Raspberry Cultivars: What's New? What's Succeeding? Where are the Breeding Programs Headed?

Author
item Finn, Chad
item MOORE, P - WASHINGTON STATE UNIV
item KEMPLER, C - AGRI-GOOD CANADA

Submitted to: Acta Horticulturae
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 9/1/2006
Publication Date: 1/28/2008
Citation: Finn, C.E., Moore, P.P., Kempler, C. 2008. Raspberry cultivars: What's new? What's succeeding? Where are the breeding programs headed?. Acta Horticulturae. 777:33-40.

Interpretive Summary: Breeding programs around the world are facing challenges placed on them by their marketplace, production regions, and funding and are responding by developing cultivars that successfully meet the needs of the marketplace. Since the last review in 2002, at least 36 cultivars have been released. Some of these cultivars are already becoming “new” standards and are complementing or replacing the old standards to serve as the backbone for a thriving red raspberry industry worldwide. In addition to high yields of excellent quality fruit, the objectives that need to be addressed in breeding new cultivars cited by most programs are root rot and Raspberry bushy dwarf virus (RBDV) resistance. Additional goals are centered around traits based on the use of the fruit and adaptation to specific local environments. Many programs remain willing to exchange germplasm, with increasing paperwork. An emerging concern with germplasm exchange is the difficulty meeting phytosanitary requirements. Breeding programs are doing a great job, using conventional approaches, good science, and keen eyes to develop cultivars that meet the needs of their industries. However, there is an erosion of the number of programs, an increasing importance of private programs, more legal paperwork, and a decrease in germplasm exchange that are impacting the way we operate. In the future we expect: great success in further extending the season; cultivars that are adapted to niche markets or single uses (e.g., organic); improved plant architecture; the importance to the consumer (or lack thereof) of significantly altering the “nutraceutical”/antioxidant value of fruit will become clearer; and while there is no interest in transgenic cultivars, molecular tools will help via marker assisted selection for intractable traits.

Technical Abstract: Breeding programs around the world are facing challenges placed on them by their marketplace, production regions, and funding and are responding by developing cultivars that successfully meet the needs of the marketplace. Since the last review in 2002, at least 36 cultivars have been released. Some of these cultivars are already becoming “new” standards and are complementing or replacing the old standards to serve as the backbone for a thriving red raspberry industry worldwide. In addition to high yields of excellent quality fruit, the objectives that need to be addressed in breeding new cultivars cited by most programs are root rot and Raspberry bushy dwarf virus (RBDV) resistance. Additional goals centered around traits based on the use of the fruit, and adaptation to specific local environments. Many programs remain willing to exchange germplasm, with increasing paperwork. An emerging concern with germplasm exchange is the difficulty meeting phytosanitary requirements. Breeding programs are doing a great job, using conventional approaches, good science, and keen eyes to develop cultivars that meet the needs of their industries. However, there is an erosion of the number of programs, an increasing importance of private programs, more legal paperwork, and a decrease in germplasm exchange that are impacting the way we operate. In the future we expect: great success in further extending the season; cultivars that are adapted to niche markets or single uses (e.g., organic); improved plant architecture; the importance to the consumer (or lack thereof) of significantly altering the “nutraceutical”/antioxidant value of fruit will become clearer; and while there is no interest in transgenic cultivars, molecular tools will help via marker assisted selection for intractable traits.