Bramble Opportunities

Bramble industry in NC: -100 acres acres 2002 (approx) -90% blackberries -Arkansas varieties

Brambles are good for you…..

Terminal market prices

Market opportunities PYO and pre-pick on farm Restaurants Grocery chains Local markets Processing Specialty markets

Brambles are “Specialty” Crops

Value Added Potential

Marketable yield (lbs/plant)

Climatic requirements Raspberries Cool summers, sustained cold winter temperatures Blackberries High temperatures, tolerates fluctuating winter temperatures

Cultivars Select cultivar for local conditions and markets Test new cultivars on limited basis to observe performance

Raspberry varieties by region Mountains and foothills Reveille, Latham, Citadel, Mandarin, Autumn Bliss, Cherokee, Summit, Red Wing, Heritage, Ruby, Nordic, Nova, Caroline, Josephine, Anne?? Piedmont Southland, Dormanred, Mandarin Heritage, Caroline, Josephine, Anne?? Coastal Plain Dormanred

Blackberry varieties by region Mountains and foothills Brazos, Cherokee, Cheyenne, Darrow, Navaho, Apache, Ouachita and Chickasaw??? Piedmont and Coastal Plain all of the above and Arapaho, Apache, Black Satin, Boysenberry, Chester, Chickasaw, Choctaw, Comanche, Hull, Kiowa, Ouachita, Shawnee

Inputs: Plants Irrigation equipment Chemicals Trellis Pruning supplies Picking containers Labor

Labor INTENSIVE Planting Pest and weed control Pruning and training Harvest

Viruses!

Planting stock Plugs (from TC), handles, suckers, root cuttings, tips, transplants Good quality,reputable source,disease free, true-to-type “Certified” plants Virus indexed, grown in conditions to limit virus infection, superior growth, derived from tissue culture plants Place orders early Fall or spring planting

Nurseries selling brambles mfruit-index.html database.xls uits/Blackberries/licensedprop.asp

For more information Web sites NCCES  (blackberry and raspberry HIL’s) pubs.html AG publications (NCCES) Growing raspberries in North Carolina Blackberry production in North Carolina (out of print, but on WWW)

For more information Grower organizations North American Bramble Growers Association ( Other publications Commercial Bramble Culture, Univ. Georgia ( Brambles - Production Management and Marketing Bulletin Ohio State Univ. Bramble Production Guide NRAES, 152 Riley Robb Hall, Cooperative Extension, Ithaca, NY