Performance of Blackberry Varieties in Southern MD
Alan Leslie
Blackberries are a crop that holds potential for diversified fruit and vegetable operations in the Mid-Atlantic, with options for pick-your-own, direct
sale, or wholesale outlets. In general, blackberries are well adapted to growing conditions throughout the Mid-Atlantic, but newer variety releases from state breeding programs in Arkansas and North Carolina have yet to be thoroughly tested in this area. This variety trial was established in 2018 to test six newer varieties at the Central Maryland Research and Education Center in Upper Marlboro, MD. Varieties include Arapaho, Freedom, Natchez, Osage, Ouachita, and Von.
All varieties are thornless, floricane-fruiting types, with the exception of Freedom, which is a thornless, primocane-fruiting variety. For this trial, Freedom was managed as a floricanebearing plant, since this variety is advertised as providing both types of harvests. Floricane varieties produce fruit much earlier than primocane plants, and so one objective of this study was to determine whether these varieties produce fruit early enough in the season to overlap with or compliment the season of Junebearing strawberry production, which has been a staple crop for you-pick operations in Southern MD.
This trial included four replicates of each variety planted in a randomized complete block design. Each replicate contained three plants of that specific cultivar, each spaced 3 feet apart. For the initial two years, data were collected on plant vigor and survival, with 2020 being the first year that yield data were collected. Fertilizers and protective fungicides were applied according to production guide recommendations. Weeds were controlled with herbicide application in early summer and mowing between trellised rows. Primocanes were tipped midsummer to produce a plant height of around 7’. Spent floricanes were removed and new shoots were pruned in late winter ahead of the growing season.
Yield was measured weekly over the course of four weeks, where all ripe fruit were collected and weighed for each replicate plot. A subsample of fruit was also weighed and counted to produce a measure of the average berry size. The harvest period was initiated when there was enough ripe fruit to support you-pick clientele, and was terminated when ripe berries became scarce.
For the 2022 season, the first harvest was on July 5 and the final harvest on July 26. In total, most varieties produced more fruit per plant in 2022 compared to previous years, following a three-year trend of higher yield. Natchez, Osage, and Ouachita all had yields between 2-3 lbs/plant, while Von averaged 4.9 lbs/plant. Freedom had the lowest yield at 0.2 lbs/plant, while Arapaho produced only 0.5 lbs/plant. Results from this third year of evaluation point to Natchez, Osage, Ouachita, and Von as being recommended varieties for local blackberry production in MD, but that the relatively late fruit production will not likely fill the void left at the end of June-bearing strawberry season for you-pick operations.