Boysenberries
BOYSENBERRY STRAINS
Boysenberries resulted from a chance selection found in a ditch in California by Rudolph Boysen. The plant "sports" readily, and as a result many variations are found in fruit type (shape, size, time of harvest, ease of removal), and in thorniness of the canes. Selections have been made from these variations and these have been numbered or named and released as named varieties. Fruit of all types is purple black with a dull appearance. Fruit is soft and is very difficult to fresh market. Outstanding flavour and extensively used for a wide range of processed products. Boysenberries and youngberries are best suited to climates with mild winters and warm summers. Nelson, Hawkes Bay and the Bay of Plenty are especially well suited. Boysenberry Decline is a recently discovered disease which threatens production of these fruits. Key symptoms are multiple shoots coming from a single bud which are very vigorous and produce infertile flowers. Check for latest recommendations on control from the Boysenberry Council.
Cultural notes:
Plant spacing of 1.5 x 3m works well on most sites. Plants appreciate lots of organic material around the root system which consists of a mat of fibrous roots close to the surface. To ensure uniform stock, only use tissue cultured stock or material all taken from one plant. Correct maturity for harvesting can be determined by the slight calyx separation, which occurs when the fruit is ripe.
A page of colour plates allowing a visual comparison of some of the following varieties is available (Please note this is a large document with over 100K of graphics). Alternatively, clicking a colourised variety name in the list below will call a 40K image of that variety.
LDE2
General description:
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Good cropping variety with better ease of removal rating than for Riwaka Choice strain. Moderately thorny and late season (late December in Nelson). Large berry size
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Market Suitability:
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Processing, Pick your own
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Plant Availability:
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In tissue culture. Readily available
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MAPUA (LI2)
General description:
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A stable, mostly spineless sport which has cropped well in trials in Nelson. Season is similar to Riwaka Choice. Berry size is large. Moderate ease of removal.
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Market Suitability:
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Processing, Pick your own
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Plant Availability:
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In tissue culture. Readily available
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McNICOL'S CHOICE
General description:
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A mostly spineless sport which was selected in the Hawkes Bay from the semi-thornless strain grown in that district. Season is similar to Riwaka Choice. Has a large number of berries per lateral and yield can be very high. Berry size is medium - large.
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Market Suitability:
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Processing, Pick your own
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Plant Availability:
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In tissue culture. Readily available
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RIWAKAS CHOICE
General description:
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Heavy cropping variety which is the industry standard for hand pick operations. Moderately thorny and late season. Very large berry size.
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Deficiencies:
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Some difficulty in machine harvesting at times
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Market Suitability:
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Processing, Pick your own
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Plant Availability:
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In tissue culture. Readily available
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TASMAN (PI1)
General description:
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A stable, mostly spineless sport which has cropped well in machine harvesting trials in Nelson. Season is between that of youngberry and boysenberry. Berry size is medium - large. Moderate ease of removal.
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Market Suitability:
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Processing, Pick your own
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Plant Availability:
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In tissue culture. Readily available
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YOUNGBERRY
Youngberry is the result of a deliberate 1906 cross between two American dewberries Mayes and Phenomenal and was introduced in 1926 in the USA. It is treated in New Zealand as an "early boysenberry" which it closely resembles. The main differences are maturity time which is one week earlier than boysen, berries are smaller, less acid and shinier. Yields are similar.
Cultural notes:
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Treat in the same way as boysenberries
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RS4
General description:
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This has been a consistently high performing strain in Nelson. It has medium sized berries and is capable of good yields. No comparative ease of removal data is available but this strain does machine harvest well and has been planted by several growers for this purpose.
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Deficiencies:
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Fruit size
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Market Suitability:
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Processing, Pick your own
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Plant Availability:
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In tissue culture. Readily available.
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OTHER HYBRID BERRIES
Hybrid berries are also referred to as brambles. They will often have a number of Rubus sp in their breeding and may be thornless. They all have a trailing type habit and retain the torus or "plug" in the fruit when picked. Harvesting date is usually up to 1 month either side of Christmas.
Many of these are recent releases and more are expected as a result of the HortResearch breeding programme at Riwaka. All varieties described below are from this programme unless otherwise specified. The uses for these berries is yet to be determined but initial value is expected to be mostly as fresh fruit.
Cultural notes:
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Treat as for boysenberries unless otherwise specified.
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KARAKA BLACK
General description:
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Result of a cross between M103 and N71 featuring Aurora, Comanche and Cherokee in its parentage. Spiny canes similar to boysenberry. Fruit is well displayed and is very easy to pick. Fruit is long conical in shape and bright black colour. Yields are very high. Flavour is likened to mild blackberry. Very firm fruit. Has a long cropping season beginning 3 weeks earlier than boysenberry and continuing until after boysenberry. Has very good disease resistance to both dryberry and botrytis. Moderately susceptible to budmoth. Relatively weak growing plant and needs to be planted at about 1m apart on most sites.
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Deficiencies:
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Flavour rather acidic when picked slightly under-ripe
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Market Suitability:
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Fresh export and local, processing, Pick Your Own
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District Suitability:
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All districts
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Plant Availability:
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In tissue culture. Readily available
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General description:
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US Department of Agriculture variety. Very spiny canes. Fruit is well displayed and easy to pick. Fruit is long conical in shape and are bright black in colour which loses the gloss as it ripens. Yields are very high. Flavour is aromatic and very pleasant. The small seeds and relatively soft core produce a melt in the mouth sensation. Very firm fruit. Season is mid December to mid January at Riwaka and will vary according to location. Has very good disease resistance to both dryberry and botrytis. Very susceptible to budmoth.
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Deficiencies:
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Very thorny
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Market Suitability:
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Fresh local, processing (similar to Marionberry), Pick your own
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District Suitability:
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All districts
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Plant Availability:
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Readily available
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General description:
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Parentage is Aurora x Marion. Vigorous plant with high cane numbers with similar spininess to boysenberries. Good bud break. Harvests about three weeks earlier than Boysenberry. Good fruit size. Cropping performance can be variable. Similar size to Boysenberry but much firmer. When fully ripe, fruit turn a dark red colour and could be mistaken for under-ripe boysenberries but have more, smaller druplets. Firm attractive sweet berries with excellent potential for fresh sales. Has good flavour even when picked slightly under-ripe. Appears slightly more resistant to pest and disease attack. Flavour of processed products from this selection is mild.
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Deficiencies:
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Poor yield in first season
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Market Suitability:
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Fresh local, processing, Pick Your Own
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District Suitability:
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All districts
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Plant availability:
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In tissue culture. Readily available
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General description:
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Scottish Crop Research Institute variety. Parentage includes Aurora blackberry and tetraploid raspberry. Erect or semi erect very spiny canes. Fruit is well displayed and moderately easy to pick although more difficult when hot. Fruit is long conical in shape and bright red-purple in colour which goes darker as it ripens. Flavour is slightly aromatic and "Loganberry" like. Season is slightly earlier than Boysenberry.
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Deficiencies:
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Susceptible to RBDV, soft
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Market Suitability:
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Fresh local, processing, Pick your own
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District Suitability:
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All districts
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Plant Availability:
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In tissue culture. Readily available
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WAIMATE
General description:
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Loganberry type. Genetically thornless. Large fruit size and good fruit number making for high yields. Fruit is well displayed but can be hard to pick, especially in hot weather. Fruit is long conical in shape and dusky red. Flavour is typical loganberry and quite acidic. Moderately soft fruit. Cropping season similar to boysenberry. Susceptible to budmoth. Vigorous plant.
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Deficiencies:
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Softness and ease of harvest when hot
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Market Suitability:
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Outstanding for processing, Pick Your Own
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District Suitability:
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Not widely tested but likely to be suitable for all districts
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Plant Availability:
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In tissue culture. Readily available
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WALDO
General description:
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US variety. Weak spineless canes which need highly fertile soils and good growing conditions to fill a normal canopy. Fruit is easy to pick. Fruit is moderately long conical in shape and bright black colour which loses the gloss as it ripens. Flavour is excellent and has a typical blackberry-like character. Season is about 2 weeks after boysenberry. Very susceptible to budmoth and botrytis.
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Deficiencies:
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Weak habit
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Market Suitability:
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Fresh, Processing, Pick your own
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District Suitability:
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All districts
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Plant Availability:
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Limited availability
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Cultural notes:
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Space plants about 1 m apart. Do not attempt to train canes until after frosts have made the cane more supple.
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DELETED VARIETIES:
Kaitere, Mahana, Riwaka Tahi, Taranaki
TRIAL VARIETIES
The following selections have been released for grower trials. Material is available ex tissue culture. Season is expected to be similar to boysenberry.
HH4
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Vigorous, strong, spineless, upright canes. Large, wine red, moderately firm fruit
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HH5
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Vigorous, strong, spineless canes. Large, chunky black, slightly soft fruit with good flavour
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HH6
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Vigorous, strong, spineless canes. Large, shiny, attractive, wine red, firm fruit with good flavour. Easy to pick
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HH8
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Moderately vigorous, spineless canes. Fruit are long, shiny, black, exceptionally firm and easy to harvest.
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BLACKBERRY TYPES
Cultural notes:
This family includes older types such as Smoothstem and Thornfree and are very vigorous, semi erect types, fruiting from February through until April, depending on variety and district. Maturity determination can be difficult and is determined by berries becoming slightly dull when fully ripe. Plant spacing should be a minimum of 3m between rows and 2m between plants. From year two onwards, new canes should be tipped at about 1m in height and encouraged to branch as basal canes are very thick and difficult to train.
LOCH NESS
General description:
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Scottish Crop Research Institute variety. Cropping performance largely untested in New Zealand. Has produced very high yields overseas. Produces large (4-6g) fruits, glossy black and blunt conical in shape. Firm with moderate flavour. Long fruit season probably starting about early February. Can fill a gap between Waldo and Smoothstem/Thornfree. Fruiting laterals very long (30cm). Produces spine free semi erect canes.
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Deficiencies:
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Tendency for slightly under ripe fruit to go red when frozen. Dryberry sensitive.
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Market Suitability:
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Fresh, Processing, Pick your own
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District Suitability:
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All districts
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Plant Availability:
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In tissue culture
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