1. Bramble Opportunities

2. Bramble industry in NC: -100 acres 1996 -150 acres 2002 (approx) -90% blackberries -Arkansas varieties

3. Brambles are good for you…..

4. Terminal market prices

6. Market opportunities PYO and pre-pick on farm Restaurants Grocery chains Local markets Processing Specialty markets

7. Brambles are “Specialty” Crops

10. Value Added Potential

13. Marketable yield (lbs/plant)

15. Climatic requirements Raspberries Cool summers, sustained cold winter temperatures Blackberries High temperatures, tolerates fluctuating winter temperatures

16. Cultivars Select cultivar for local conditions and markets Test new cultivars on limited basis to observe performance

17. Raspberry varieties by region Mountains and foothills Reveille, Latham, Citadel, Mandarin, Autumn Bliss, Cherokee, Summit, Red Wing, Heritage, Ruby, Nordic, Nova, Caroline, Josephine, Anne?? Piedmont Southland, Dormanred, Mandarin Heritage, Caroline, Josephine, Anne?? Coastal Plain Dormanred

18. Blackberry varieties by region Mountains and foothills Brazos, Cherokee, Cheyenne, Darrow, Navaho, Apache, Ouachita and Chickasaw??? Piedmont and Coastal Plain all of the above and Arapaho, Apache, Black Satin, Boysenberry, Chester, Chickasaw, Choctaw, Comanche, Hull, Kiowa, Ouachita, Shawnee

19. Inputs: Plants Irrigation equipment Chemicals Trellis Pruning supplies Picking containers Labor

20. Labor INTENSIVE Planting Pest and weed control Pruning and training Harvest

21. Viruses!

22. Planting stock Plugs (from TC), handles, suckers, root cuttings, tips, transplants Good quality,reputable source,disease free, true-to-type “Certified” plants Virus indexed, grown in conditions to limit virus infection, superior growth, derived from tissue culture plants Place orders early Fall or spring planting

23. Nurseries selling brambles http://www.ces.ncsu.edu/depts/hort/hil/s mfruit-index.html http://www.smallfruits.org/nurserycomm database.xls http://www.aragriculture.org/commhort/fr uits/Blackberries/licensedprop.asp

25. For more information Web sites NCCES http://www.ces.ncsu.edu/depts/hort/hil/  (blackberry and raspberry HIL’s) http://web.vaes.vt.edu/VAES/Publications/vaesnum pubs.html AG publications (NCCES) Growing raspberries in North Carolina Blackberry production in North Carolina (out of print, but on WWW)

26. For more information Grower organizations North American Bramble Growers Association (www.nabga.com) Other publications Commercial Bramble Culture, Univ. Georgia (www.smallfruits.org)www.smallfruits.org Brambles - Production Management and Marketing Bulletin 782-99 Ohio State Univ. http://ohioline.osu.edu/b782/index.html Bramble Production Guide NRAES, 152 Riley Robb Hall, Cooperative Extension, Ithaca, NY 14853 607-255-7654