Location: Horticultural Crops Production and Genetic Improvement Research Unit
2020 Annual Report
Accomplishments
1. Celestial blackberry series – three new cultivars. ‘Eclipse,’ ‘Galaxy,’ and ‘Twilight’ blackberries are three new, thornless, semi-erect, high-quality blackberries released from the ARS scientists in Parma, Idaho, and Corvallis, Oregon, with Oregon State University and Nigde Omer Halisdemir University (Turkey) collaborators. These three patented cultivars have firm, dark fruit well-suited for the fresh market. These cultivars have lower anthocyanin (red pigment) levels compared to standard commercial trailing blackberries. Plants in this celestial blackberry series are the first cultivars derived from eastern and western North American blackberry germplasm. These blackberries will further contribute to U.S. blackberry production, valued at $31 million.
2. Salt water and fungi – impact on basil. Decreasing availability and rising costs of high-quality water for irrigation results in more frequent use of saline water sources in many crop production systems. ARS scientists in Corvallis, Oregon, and Parma, Idaho, found that salinity altered phenolic accumulation at lower salinity levels than those that influenced biomass yield. In salt-treated plants arbuscular mycorrhizal fungus (AMF) increased fresh weight and accumulation of several phenolics (quality component), but did not completely mitigate the negative effects of salinity on biomass yield or phenolic composition. The data highlights the importance of considering the effects of salinity on both crop productivity and quality. Basil industry contributes $15 million to the global economy.
Review Publications
Finn, C.E., Strik, B., Yorgey, B.M., Peterson, M.E., Jones, P.A., Lee, J., Bassil, N.V., Martin, R.R. 2020. 'Twilight' thornless semi-erect blackberry. HortScience. 55(7):1148-1152. https://doi.org/10.21273/HORTSCI14992-20.
Finn, C.E., Strik, B., Yorgey, B.M., Peterson, M.E., Jones, P.A., Buller, G., Lee, J., Bassil, N.V., Martin, R.R. 2020. ‘Galaxy’ thornless semierect blackberry. HortScience. 55(6):967-971. https://doi.org/10.21273/HORTSCI14985-20.
Scagel, C.F., Lee, J. 2020. Salinity sensitivity and mycorrhizal responsiveness of polyphenolics in ‘Siam Queen’ basil grown in soilless substrate. Scientia Horticulturae. 269. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scienta.2020.109394.
