Skip to main content
ARS Home » Pacific West Area » Corvallis, Oregon » Horticultural Crops Research Unit » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #188559
Title: Variation and Inheritance of Vegetative Characteristics and Reproductive Traits in black raspberry (Rubus occidentalis L.)

Author
item DOSSETT, M - OREGON STATE UNIVERSITY
item Finn, Chad

Submitted to: Acta Horticulturae
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 9/1/2006
Publication Date: 1/28/2008
Citation: Dossett, M.P., Finn, C.E. 2008. Variation and inheritance of vegetative characteristics and reproductive traits in black raspberry (Rubus occidentalis L.). Acta Horticulturae. 777:147-152.

Interpretive Summary: Black raspberries are a major crop for the processing industry in the Pacific Northwest. The industry relies on ‘Munger’, which was developed in Ohio in 1890 and seldom produces more than two to three years before succumbing to an array of diseases. In the late 1990s, all available cultivars of black raspberry were tested at the Oregon State University North Willamette Research and Extension Center. Based on these trials, parents were chosen from this group and crossed with one another in a pattern that lends itself to determining variability and the inheritance of traits. Seedling families were planted in Corvallis, Oregon and arranged in a randomized complete block design with four blocks. Flowering and ripening seasons were recorded for each plant as well as average fruit mass from samples of 25 randomly collected non-primary fruit. Vigor was rated on a numerical scale from 1-9 as part of an ongoing study on variation and inheritance. In the first fruiting season, differences were observed in primocane vigor as well as bloom time, ripening dates, fruit size and the number of nodes at which fruit was present on fruiting laterals. Data collected in the 2nd fruiting season will help confirm observations made on the best parents for certain traits. Also in this process, several outstanding selections of black raspberry have been identified that will be propagated for further testing.

Technical Abstract: Black raspberry (Rubus occidentalis L.) is a major crop for the processing industry in Oregon. The industry relies on ‘Munger’, which was developed in Ohio in 1890 and seldom produces more than two to three years before succumbing to an array of fungal and viral pathogens. In the late 1980s, all available cultivars of black raspberry were tested at the Oregon State University North Willamette Research and Extension Center. Based on these trials, parents were chosen from this group. An incomplete partial diallel consisting of 10 parents and 26 sibling families was constructed for the study of variation and inheritance of vegetative and reproductive traits in black raspberry. Sibling families of one to eight plants were planted at the Lewis Brown Farm in Corvallis, Oregon, and were arranged in a randomized complete block design with four blocks. Flowering and ripening seasons were recorded for each plant as well as average fruit mass from samples of 25 randomly collected non-primary fruit. Vigor was rated on a numerical scale from 1-9 as part of an ongoing study on variation and inheritance. In the first fruiting season, differences were observed in primocane vigor as well as bloom time, ripening dates, fruit size and the number of nodes at which fruit was present on fruiting laterals. Trait means are presented and discussion includes observations on trends in plant parentage as they relate to these means.