Skip to Content.
Sympa Menu

nafex - [NAFEX] Eldon Everhart article about Aronia

nafex@lists.ibiblio.org

Subject: North American Fruit Explorers mailing list at ibiblio

List archive

Chronological Thread  
  • From: "Brungardt, Sam" <Sam.Brungardt@state.mn.us>
  • To: "North American Fruit Explorers" <nafex@lists.ibiblio.org>
  • Subject: [NAFEX] Eldon Everhart article about Aronia
  • Date: Fri, 5 Jan 2007 15:23:18 -0600

Title: Eldon Everhart article about Aronia

I am sharing the text of an article that ran in the Fall 2006 issue of The Iowa Horticulturist.  It is reprinted with permission from The Iowa Horticulturist, Vol. 22, No. 4, 2006.  This magazine is published by the The Iowa State Horticultural Society http://www.iowahort.org/ . -- Sam Brungardt, St. Paul, Minn. (USDA Zone 4b)

-----------------

Black Chokeberry
Aronia melanocapra "New Crop" for Iowa

By Eldon Everhart, horticulture specialist, Iowa State University

Black chokeberry is the common name for Aronia melanocarpa.  This deciduous shrub is native to eastern United States including Iowa.  It was well known to Native Americans and pioneers.

Early in the 20th century, Aronia was introduced to Eastern Europe, Scandinavia, and Russia where high quality, large fruited cultivars were developed.  In the last ten years, these improved cultivars have been "reintroduced" to the United States.

It is important to note that Aronia is not a chokecherry.  Chokecherry is a member of the genus Prunus which also includes cherry, apricot, plum, peach, and nectarine.  These plants are susceptible to many pests.

Chokeberry is not harmed by insects or diseases and birds do not eat the ripening fruit.  Pruning and care is easy and requires little time.  It is well suited to organic or conventional fruit production and ornamental landscape plantings.

The biggest commercial Aronia berry plantation in the Midwest is near Missouri Valley in western Iowa.  Last fall a field day was held at this plantation known as Sawmille Hollow and owned by Vaughn and Cindy Pittz.  The field day was sponsored by Iowa State University Extension and Sawmill Hollow, Inc.  It was supported by a SARE grant.

More than 80 people participated in the field day.  They were treated to the delicious taste of many products made from Aronia berries including bread and other baked goods, salsa, barbeque sauce, jams, jellies, juice, and Aronia wine.  Field day participants also got to pick and eat fresh ripe berries from the many rows of 'Viking' Aronia bushes.

The pea-sized, violet-black berries are harvested in late August or early September.  The berries have a dry and sour flavor.  They can be eaten fresh or preserved by freezing or canning.  In addition to the products served at the field day, Aronia fruit or fruit juice can be used to make tea, pie, cookies, syrup, and candy or to flavor and color yogurt, sorbet, milk, and other products.

Aronia juice is increasingly being used in the food industry to supply a natural red color in products.  It can be blended with apple juice and other fruit juice to give the juice a blush.  Aronia juice has a high percentage of natural pigments that hold their color well.  They can be blended with other juices and wines to add a stable color.

Aronia berries contain high levels of vitamins, minerals, quinic acid, antioxidants, and polyphenols.  Research has show that Aronia has more antioxidant power than other fruits including grapes, blueberries, prunes, bananas, apples, and pears.  Aronia has 5 to 10 times as much anthocyanins and falvonoids as cranberries.  These compounds are known to reduce the potential for cancer and heart disease.

Chokeberry also has many exceptional ornamental landscape qualities including white flowers in late spring and shiny, dark green leaves that are thick and not tattered by wind or pests.  Its red fall color contrasts with its dark berries.

Aronia is cold hardy to at least USDA Zone 3.  Its late blooms avoid spring frosts.  The plants grow well on various soils as long as they are well drianed.  The optimum pH is slightly acid, but has a wide range.

Mature plants grow 8 feet tall with 40 or more shoots.  Removal of older shoots or pruning to the ground every three years will renew the plants and help them produce more flowers and larger berries.

More Aronia Information

Plants and products made from Aronia berries are available from:
Vaughn & Cindy Pittz
Sawmill Hollow Inc.
P.O. Box 126
2159 Kennedy Ave
Missouri Valley, IA 51555
712-648-2432
vpittz@iowatelecom.net

For help starting a commercial Aronia plantation or information about home fruit production or landscape plantings, or to schedule a slide presentation about Aronia for a group, contact:

Dr. Eldon Everhart, horticulture specialist
Iowa State University
906  6th St.
Harlan, IA 51537
712-249-3868
everhart@iastate.edu




Archive powered by MHonArc 2.6.24.

Top of Page