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- From: Michael Dossett <phainopepla@yahoo.com>
- To: North American Fruit Explorers <nafex@lists.ibiblio.org>
- Subject: Re: [NAFEX] Marionberry
- Date: Thu, 2 Apr 2009 12:01:14 -0700 (PDT)
Betty and others,
Cascade was introduced in 1940 and became the favored berry in the Pacific Northwest for preserves and juices. It was grown commercially until it became supplanted by others, particularly Marion. Marion is just as soft as Cascade, however it has larger fruit and higher yields, and is easier to machine harvest.
There has been controversy brewing here in the NW for several years now as many growers want a thornless replacement for Marion with better cold hardiness and many processors wanting a thornless berry with better fruit charactaristics (firmer, not discoloring during freezing etc.). More than one place has gone out of business due to lawsuits from Marion's thorns contaminating a final product. Thorns in a shipment of berries are now classified as the same level of hazard as broken glass. The processors don't want to get sued and now if a shipment from a grower is found to have any thorn contamination it is turned away and the whole lot is dumped.
At the same time a few processors and brokers as well as those hired to do marketing have, over the years, latched onto the Marionberry brand and have succeeded in convincing many that Marion is superior in flavor to all others. They now have such a vested interest in keeping Marion around that they don't want anyone in the industry to change. As the two factions have drawn their respective lines in the sand and started to dig themselves trenches behind them It has made things more complicated for those trying to breed a replacement for Marion and has the potential tear the industry apart.
To make things more complicated many of those selling fruit as "Marion" have started mixing in Kotata and other berries that have a similar appearence but are easier to grow and yield higher. Because they lack the distinctive flavor of Marion, though, it has started to taint the Marion brand that some have worked hard to build. Nobody yet has been caught "red handed" trying to cheat the system (Marion does get a slightly higher price because of the demand) but there is talk of creating a certification system with DNA testing to protect Marion growers...
In any event, it all helps keep life, and commission meetings, interesting.
Michael
Michael Dossett Corvallis, Oregon www.Mdossettphoto.com phainopepla@yahoo.com
--- On Thu, 4/2/09, Betty Mayfield <bmayfield@opusnet.com> wrote:
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[NAFEX] Marionberry,
Scott Smith, 04/02/2009
- Re: [NAFEX] Marionberry, Betty Mayfield, 04/02/2009
- <Possible follow-up(s)>
- Re: [NAFEX] Marionberry, Michael Dossett, 04/02/2009
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[NAFEX] Marionberry,
Scott Smith, 04/02/2009
-
Re: [NAFEX] Marionberry,
Betty Mayfield, 04/03/2009
-
Re: [NAFEX] Marionberry,
Lon J. Rombough, 04/03/2009
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Re: [NAFEX] Marionberry,
Ginda Fisher, 04/03/2009
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Re: [NAFEX] Marionberry,
Lon J. Rombough, 04/03/2009
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Re: [NAFEX] Marionberry,
Betty Mayfield, 04/04/2009
- Re: [NAFEX] Marionberry, Ginda Fisher, 04/04/2009
-
Re: [NAFEX] Marionberry,
Betty Mayfield, 04/04/2009
-
Re: [NAFEX] Marionberry,
Lon J. Rombough, 04/03/2009
-
Re: [NAFEX] Marionberry,
Ginda Fisher, 04/03/2009
-
Re: [NAFEX] Marionberry,
Lon J. Rombough, 04/03/2009
-
Re: [NAFEX] Marionberry,
Betty Mayfield, 04/03/2009
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