SMALL FRUIT

1
SMALL FRUIT

• Larry G. Campbell
• WVU-Harrison County Extension Agent
• WVU Assistant Professor

Photo by L.G. Campbell
2
GRAPES
3
Types of Grapes

• European (Vitis vinifera)
• -Preferred by wineries
• - Cold sensitive therefore difficult to grow in
• WV
• American (Vitis labrusca)
• -Wine and table
• -Winter hardy disease resistant (eg.
• Concord).
• French Hybrids (V. vinifera crosses with wild
• American)
• -Superior to American for wine.
• - Good for WV gardens.
• Muscadine (Vitis rotundifolia)
• - Grown in the south

4
SITE SELECTION

• Good exposure to sun.
• Good air drainage (plant on a slope)
• -Cold air will move downhill into low points
• creating a cold spot.
• -Ponding occurs when cold air moves
• down slope and collects at edge of woodlot.
• Good water drainage.
• Good fertility.

5
PLANTING GRAPES

• Plant early after danger of frost.
• Soak roots before planting.
• Prune back to 4-6 buds.
• After shoot growth develops danger of frost has
  passed, cut back to the 2 strongest shoots.
• Remove flower clusters and root suckers the first
  year.
• Space 4-8 apart in rows and 9-12 between rows.
• Rows should run north and south.

6
TRAINING SYSTEMS

• FOUR-ARM KNIFFIN
• UMBRELLA KNIFFIN OR HIGH CORDON

7
FOUR-ARM KNIFFIN SYSTEM
Prune to 4 canes 8 to 12 nodes each 4
renewal spurs.
Two wires at 3 6.
8
(No Transcript)
9
(No Transcript)
10
UMBRELLA KNIFFEN SYSTEM
Ends of canes tied to bottom wire.
1-6 canes of 8-15 buds each.
11
GRAPE FACTS

• pH 5.6-6.4
• Prune in dormant season.
• Fruit borne on shoots produced from one-year-old
  wood (reddish-brown with tight bark).
• Best canes for fruiting are pencil size.
• Remove bull canes ( ¾).
• Cuttings can be taken after leaf drop in fall
  until sap flows in spring.
• -One year canes, pencil size, 4 buds, 8-12
  long.
• -Bury in trenches (3-6) for the winter with
  butt end up to encourage callusing and to keep
  tops dormant.

12
BRAMBLES
13
WHAT IS A BRAMBLE?

• Members of the Rosaceae family which includes
  apples, peaches, plums, roses, and strawberries.
• Genus Rubus
• Called brambles because the canes and branches
  have thorns or prickles (though thornless
  cultivars have been developed).
• Biennial canes (2yrs) and perennial root systems.
• First year canes called primocanes generally
  only have vegetative growth.
• In the second year, primocanes flower and bear
  fruit and are referred to as floricanes.

14
TYPES OF CULTIVATED BRAMBLES

• Raspberries red, black, yellow, purple.
• Blackberries thorny thornless.
• Dewberries western berry.
• Raspberry/Blackberry Hybrids Loganberry,
  Boysenberry, Tayberry, Sunberry, and Youngberry.

15
SITE SELECTION

• pH between 5.5 and 6.5.
• Not where tomatoes, eggplant, potatoes, or
  strawberries have been grown the previous 4-5
  years due to potential verticillium wilt
  problems.
• Do not plant within 600 of wild brambles.
• 90 of bramble root system is in the top 20 of
  soil, therefore soil most be loose and well
  drained.

16
PLANTING

• Between row spacing should be between 8-11 feet.
• In row spacing
• -Red raspberries 24.
• -Black raspberries 30.
• -Purple raspberries 36.
• -Blackberries 36.

17
RED RASPBERRIES

• Biology
• -Primocanes arise from buds near base of canes
  and from sucker shoots from roots.
• -Primocanes overwinter and become floricanes.
• -Purple raspberries have similar biology.

18
(No Transcript)
19
PRUNING RED RASPBERIES

• Can be grown as a hedge without a trellis due to
  erect growth habit.
• Thin primocanes as they come up to 4-6 apart.
• Remove all floricanes after fruiting or in
  dormant season.
• Summer tipping is not recommended, but winter
  damaged tips at end of dormant season should be
  removed.
• Purple raspberries can be pruned the same as reds.

20
PRUNING PRIMOCANE-FRUITING RASPBERRIES

• Also called Fall-bearing or Everbearing.
• Mow canes off to 2 inches from the ground in the
  fall.

21
BLACK RASPBERRY

• Biology
• -Primocanes arise from crown buds only.
• -Grow erect to 3-4 then tips begin arching
  over.
• -Tips can be buried in the soil to produce a new
  plant.

22
PRUNING BLACK RASPBERRIES

• Due to tall, arching growth habit, a simple
  2-wire trellis is recommended.
• Primocanes should be summer tipped 3-4 (just
  above a bud).
• Remove old floricanes after fruiting.
• Remove weak and diseased canes in fall and thin
  to 4-6 canes per crown.
• In late winter, laterals should be pruned back to
  7-10.

23
BLACKBERRIES

• Biology
• -Erect/thorny blackberries produce primocanes
  from crowns and root suckers like red
  raspberries.
• -Thornless/trailing blackberries produce
  primocanes from crowns like black raspberries.
• -Often have angular canes.
• -Thornless are less hardy.

24
Pruning Blackberries

• Thorny blackberries
• -Summer tipped to 48
• -Thinned to 10 apart in row.
• -Cut laterals back to 12-16 in dormant season
  remove old canes.
• Thornless
• -Summer tipped at about 6 above trellis wire.
• -Thin to 5-8 canes per crown in dormant season,
  remove laterals on lower 3, tip back laterals to
  18 (see above).

25
HIGHBUSH BLUEBERRY
26
BLUEBERRY BIOLOGY

• The highbush blueberry is a deciduous shrub which
  grows from 3-8 high.
• Woody canes develop from the crown of the plant.
• Fruit is formed on buds formed the previous
  growing season.
• Blueberries have fibrous roots that lack root
  hairs.
• -Results in low absorption capacity.
• -The roots depend on endomycorrhizal fungi to
  aid in nutrient and water uptake.
• -Roots located in top 8-12 of soil cannot
  penetrate compacted soils.
• -Intolerant of close cultivation.

27
Blueberry Planting

• Soil
• -pH between 3.8 5.5 (4.5 is ideal).
• -Less acid soils results in iron deficiencies.
• Can grow in nutrient poor soils but do best in
  well-drained, acid, sandy loams with a 3 or
  greater organic matter content.
• Plant in early spring.
• Prune back 50-60 of top at planting remove
  flower buds.
• Space 4-5 apart.
• Add 3-5 of mulch (sawdust, wood chips, compost).
  
• Plant more than one variety for better
  pollination.

28
Commercial Blueberry Planting
29
Pruning

• Prune in late winter or early March.
• Remove diseased and damaged canes.
• Remove small spindly branches canes that lie
  on the ground.
• Cut canes that rub against another.
• Remove centermost canes that block sunlight.
• Retain 2-3 new canes each year and remove the
  equivalent number of old canes (5 yrs and older).
• Cut canes close to the crown.
• Head back long canes with many flower buds.
• Mature plants will have 15-20 canes.
• Well pruned and maintained plants can live for 50
  years.

30
Photo by L.G. Campbell
3 Year Old Blueberry Bush in Need of Pruning
31
BLUEBERRY PRUNING
32
BLUEBERRY PRUNING
Before
After
33
Blueberry Flowers
Blueberry Fruit Set
34
BLUEBERRY BITS

• Blueberries are native to North America.
• It is our newest domesticated fruit.
• Blueberries are replacing tobacco as the number 1
  cash crop in some farm states such as North
  Carolina.
• Organic blueberries sold for 4.00 a pint in an
  eastern PA farmers market in 2004.

35
STRAWBERRIES
Photo by L.G. Campbell
36
STRAWBERRY BIOLOGY

• Herbaceous perennial consisting of leaves, a
  crown, and a shallow root system.
• Strawberries produce runners (stolons) from buds
  at the base of the leaves which form daughter
  plants.
• Prefer a pH of 6.2.
• Self-pollinating

37
CULTIVAR SELECTION

• June-bearing
• -Most commonly grown.
• -Bear one crop per year in late May to June.
• Day-neutral
• -Bear throughout the growing season.
• -3 peaks of production June, midsummer, late
  August through frost.
• Everbearing
• -Bear 2 crops but generally not as productive as
  day-neutral.

38
CULTURAL SYSTEMS

• Matted Row
• -Plants are set 18-24 apart in row for June
  bearing plants 5-9 for day-neutral.
• -Rows are 3-4 apart.
• -Maintained at 15-18 wide.
• -Leave 6-8 runners per plant.

39
MATTED ROW
2 Rows Planting Year
1 Row Year 2
40
(No Transcript)
41
(No Transcript)
42
CULTURAL SYSTEMS

• Ribbon Row
• -Plants are set 4 apart.
• -Runners are cut out.

43
(No Transcript)
44
DOUBLE ROW ON PLASTIC
Photo by L.G. Campbell
45
Plant in last of March or early April.
46
FLOWER REMOVAL

• Remove flower buds of June-bearing strawberries
  the first year to promote root development.
• Flower buds and runners on day-neutrals should be
  removed the first year only through early July.

47
MULCHING

• Mulch with 4 of clean straw in Nov./Dec. for
  protection of plants.
• Remove to aisles in March or April.
• Floating row covers can also be used.

48
(No Transcript)
49
FALL PLANTED WITH PLASTIC COVER
Photo by L.G. Campbell
50
RENOVATION

• Renovate plantings immediately after harvest
  (June-bearing).
• Not recommended for day-neutral plants which need
  to be replaced every 3 years.
• Weed and cut matted rows back to 12.
• Thin plants to 1 every 3-4.
• Remove mother plants at 3-4 years old and replace
  with strong daughter plants.
• Mow to 3 high and rototill alleys.
• Fertilize.

51
(No Transcript)
52
This PowerPoint program was assembled by Larry G.
Campbell, WVU-Harrison County Extension Agent and
WVU Assistant Professor. In addition to this
authors material, some photographs,
illustrations, and supporting materials were
assembled from various sources publicly available
on the Internet. The information was gathered
over a period of time and from sources too
numerous to list individually. The author would
like to acknowledge the assistance of these web
sites and publicly express his sincere
appreciation for the assistance. This program
was assembled solely for educational purposes and
primarily for use with statewide WV Master
Gardener training programs. The author did not
nor will ever receive financial compensation for
the preparation of this program. The program
may be copied and distributed in parts or in its
entirety for educational purposes. If any part of
this presentation is distributed, the efforts of
Mr. Campbell in assembling the materials must be
recognized. The distributor may not receive any
financial compensation for this service.
Larry G. Campbell WVU-Harrison County
Extension Agent and WVU Assistant Professor

lgcampbell_at_mail.wvu.edu WVU-Harrison County
Extension Office 301 West Main Street Room
507 Courthouse Clarksburg, WV 26301 (304)
624-8650