Submitted to: Bramble: The Newsletter of the North American Branble Growers Association, Inc.
Publication Type: Trade Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 9/15/2016
Publication Date: 9/25/2016
Citation: Stafne, E.T., Miller Butler, M.A., Smith, B.J. 2016. Observations of white drupelets on three blackberry cultivars in south Mississippi. Bramble: The Newsletter of the North American Branble Growers Association, Inc.. 31 (3) 5-6.

Interpretive Summary:

Technical Abstract: White drupelet disorder has long been known as a problem in blackberry production. Several possible causes have been discussed, such as low humidity, wind, rainfall, high light intensities, UV light, stinkbugs, red berry mites, and some interaction of some or all of these. In 2016, we observed three cultivars: Chickasaw, Kiowa, and Sweetie Pie. The early harvests had the most berries with white drupelets. We found that the sugar content of extracted white drupelets was substantially lower than normal drupelets. Sugar concentrations for whole berries with white drupelets were lower than normal whole berries by about 1 °Brix, not a significant difference overall. ‘Sweetie Pie’ had a mean number of berries that had at least one white drupelet of 21.9%, whereas ‘Chickasaw’ and ‘Kiowa’ were both less than 10%.