Building on a 100 year legacy of small fruit breeding in the Pacific Northwest

Authors: Hardigan, Michael; Peterson, Mary; LUKAS, SCOTT - Oregon State University; JONES, PATRICK - Oregon State University; DAVIS, AMANDA - Oregon State University; Lee, Jungmin; Bassil, Nahla

Submitted to: HortScience
Publication Type: Abstract Only
Publication Acceptance Date: 9/20/2024
Publication Date: 9/23/2024
Citation: Hardigan, M.A., Peterson, M.E., Lukas, S., Jones, P., Davis, A., Lee, J., Bassil, N.V. 2024. Building on a 100 year legacy of small fruit breeding in the Pacific Northwest. HortScience.

Interpretive Summary: The western United States is an important region for domestic production of raspberry and blackberry, both important specialty small berry crops alongside strawberry and blueberry. Oregon and Washington account for the majority of processed blackberry and raspberry production, respectively, while California accounts for a majority of fresh raspberry production. The US fresh and processing industries, which support both small and large growers, face stiff competition from international imports, particularly Chile and Mexico. In recent years, imported tonnage from Mexico alone exceeded domestic production for both blackberry and raspberry. This relates to cost and availability of labor. Further challenges relate to climate change and an increasing frequency of extreme heat events occurring during harvest season. The USDA-ARS cooperative small fruit breeding program, which has served the US industry for nearly a century, is focused on developing improved caneberry cultivars that reduce labor costs and increase grower profitability. This includes a strong focus on identifying machine-harvestable germplasm with higher firmness and post-harvest durability, while selecting for improved climate resilience and fruit quality under high temperatures. The breeding program is tackling this challenge through a combination of conventional breeding practices, introduction of new genomic tools, and close cooperation with Oregon State University and Washington State University for trialing new germplasm. Traditionally focused on processing cultivars, the breeding program has also expanded its focus to developing improved fresh cultivars with primocane fruiting habits as well as better flavor and shipping characteristics for US fresh growers.

Technical Abstract: The USDA-ARS cooperative small fruit breeding program is developing new caneberry (blackberry and raspberry) cultivars aimed at reducing labor costs while increasing fruit quality and climate resilience in an effort to support grower profitability. Based in Corvallis, OR, the breeding program evaluates roughly 5,000-6,000 individuals from new breeding families annually. Selections are placed into trials in Aurora, OR, and Lynden, WA in order to evaluate their machine harvestable yields and fruit quality. Fruit samples harvested from these trials are used for evaluating the processed and frozen quality of new berry types, as well as conducting post-harvest studies aimed at identifying selections with improved characteristics for transport and shelf-life. Additional studies are being conducted to identify caneberry genotypes able to tolerate excessive temperatures in an effort to generate cultivars able to withstand the increasingly frequent extreme heat events that have impacted the western US in recent years. Finally, the breeding program is collaborating with the USDA-ARS National Clonal Germplasm Repository (NCGR) and USDA Breeding Insight initiative to incorporate molecular breeding tools into what has historically been a conventional breeding program. Recent cultivar releases have include three blackberries, 'Celestial’, ‘Thunderhead’, and ‘Zodiac’, as well as a new red raspberry ‘Finnberry’, which offer improved fruit quality and productivity compared to current industry standards. Invited presentation for ASHS (American Society for Horticultural Science) Early Career Competition.