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ARS Home » Northeast Area » Kearneysville, West Virginia » Appalachian Fruit Research Laboratory » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #361078
Research Project: Production Management Research for Berry Crops (BRIDGE PROJECT)

Location: Appalachian Fruit Research Laboratory

Title: Cane management to improve yield and earliness of primocane-fruiting blackberries

Author
item Takeda, Fumiomi
item Rose, Ann

Submitted to: Mid-Atlantic Fruit and Vegetable Convention
Publication Type: Proceedings
Publication Acceptance Date: 12/10/2018
Publication Date: 1/29/2019
Citation: Takeda, F., Rose, A.K. 2019. Cane management to improve yield and earliness of primocane-fruiting blackberries. Proceedings of the Mid-Atlantic Fruit and Vegetable Convention. p. 220-221.

Interpretive Summary:

Technical Abstract: Studies were conducted on ‘Prime-Ark 45’ and ‘Prime-Ark Traveler’ to determine the effects of primocane bending and defoliation on flowering and fruiting season. From June to August, the primocanes of mature, primocane-fruiting blackberry ‘APF-45’ and ‘Prime-Ark Traveler’ were defoliated, bent and forced to grow horizontally for 1 to 1.5 m on a trellis wire at ~75 cm height and then soft-tipped. Our findings indicated that leaf removal stimulated axillary buds to push. The shoots that developed on bent primocanes were reproductive and produced a cluster of flowers one month after bending and defoliation. Of the two cultivars evaluated in this study, ‘Prime-Ark Traveler’ responded more favorably to the alternative primocane management by developing more fruiting shoots on bent primocanes. We also observed that the initial flush of spring-emerging primocanes produced more fruit and responded differently to cane bending then the primocanes that emerged later. Alternative cane management techniques provide new options to produce fruit during attractive market windows and to extend the season to increase productivity.