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ARS Home » Northeast Area » Kearneysville, West Virginia » Appalachian Fruit Research Laboratory » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #368272
Research Project: Production Management Research for Berry Crops (BRIDGE PROJECT)

Location: Appalachian Fruit Research Laboratory

Title: Effects of cane emergence time, bending, and defoliation on flowering and yield in primocane-fruiting blackberry

Author
item Takeda, Fumiomi
item Rose, Ann
item DEMCHAK, KATHLEEN - Pennsylvania State University

Submitted to: Agronomy
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 10/27/2020
Publication Date: 11/7/2020
Citation: Takeda, F., Rose, A.K., Demchak, K. 2020. Effects of cane emergence time, bending, and defoliation on flowering and yield in primocane-fruiting blackberry. Agronomy. https://doi.org/10.3390/agronomy10111737.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.3390/agronomy10111737

Interpretive Summary: Primocane-fruiting blackberries produce fruit from late summer to early winter in areas with mild winter conditions. However, their cane growth must be manipulated to make them more productive. In this research, cane bending and leaf removal practices were used to enhance their yield. The findings indicated that ‘Prime-Ark Traveler’ responded favorably to the alternative primocane management by developing many flower shoots and suggested that this practice has the potential to increase fruit production in primocane-fruiting blackberries.

Technical Abstract: Primocane-fruiting (PF) blackberries are adaptable to different production systems. To increase yields in PF blackberries, their primocanes are typically tipped or topped in summer to encourage branch formation from axillary buds below the cut. In this study, we determined in PF ‘Prime-Ark Traveler’ whether early emerging primocanes were more productive than those that emerged later in the season, and the effect of primocane bending and defoliation on flowering. The primocanes that emerged in April produced 64% more flower shoots than those that emerged after May. Also, these findings indicate the alternative primocane management practices of selecting the early emerging primocanes and bending to orient primocanes horizontally, and leaf removal to increase budbreak and flowers shoot emergence. The present work contributes toward a better understanding of primocane emergence time and orientation-flowering relations, and how these factors mediate crop performance of PF blackberry.