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nafex - [NAFEX] FW: New Blackberry Cultivars

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  • From: "Lon J. Rombough" <lonrom@hevanet.com>
  • To: NAFEX <nafex@lists.ibiblio.org>
  • Subject: [NAFEX] FW: New Blackberry Cultivars
  • Date: Thu, 02 Oct 2003 09:31:14 -0700



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From: ARS News Service <NewsService@ars.usda.gov>
Reply-To: ARS News Service <NewsService@ars.usda.gov>
Date: Thu, 02 Oct 2003 07:28:06 -0400
To: ARS News subscriber <lonrom@hevanet.com>
Subject: New Blackberry Cultivars

STORY LEAD:
ARS Releases New Blackberry Cultivars

___________________________________________

ARS News Service
Agricultural Research Service, USDA
David Elstein, (301) 504-1654, delstein@ars.usda.gov
October 2, 2003
___________________________________________

Growers have started putting in their orders for newly released
cultivars of flavorful blackberries that have been bred by the
Agricultural Research Service.

Geneticist Chad E. Finn led the cultivar development research at the
ARS Horticultural Crops Research Laboratory in Corvallis, Ore. Finn
recently released five blackberry cultivars--two for the fresh market
and three for processing.

The fresh market cultivars ripen very early, are firm and have
excellent flavor. The processing cultivars are thornless, an essential
characteristic for berries that will be machine-harvested and processed.
In addition, the fruit quality of these cultivars is excellent when the
fruit are processed, typically by freezing.

The crosses that were made to develop these new blackberries were done
in the late 1980s and early 1990s, but the genetic foundation for this
program is based on more than 80 years of breeding by the U.S.
Department of Agriculture in Oregon. After the first breeding cross is
made, it takes many years of selecting the best plants and testing them
to find out which have the desired traits and, most importantly, taste
delicious.

Each berry crop--whether strawberry, blackberry, raspberry or
blueberry--and the intended market (fresh or processed) has its own
group of critical characteristics. A range of ripening seasons and good
shipping characteristics are critical for the fresh market. Intense
color and flavor, high acidity, high sugar levels and ability to
withstand machine harvest are critical for berries for the processing
market.

Read more about this research in the October issue of Agricultural
Research magazine, available online at:
http://www.ars.usda.gov/is/AR/archive/oct03/berry1003.htm

ARS is USDA's chief scientific research agency.
___________________________________________

* This is one of the news reports that ARS Information distributes to
subscribers on weekdays.
* Start, stop or change an e-mail subscription at
www.ars.usda.gov/is/pr/subscribe.htm
* NewsService@ars.usda.gov | www.ars.usda.gov/news
* Phone (301) 504-1638 | fax (301) 504-1648






  • [NAFEX] FW: New Blackberry Cultivars, Lon J. Rombough, 10/02/2003

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