Black raspberry plant named ‘Ohio's Treasure’

Abstract

A new and distinct cultivar of primocane and floricane fruiting black raspberry plant Ohio's Treasure. The new cultivar fruits from normal overwintered floricane buds, on primocanes, and from late spring, long, basal, floricane trusses which result in good productivity over a particularly long harvest season.

Claims

1. A new and distinct fall bearing black raspberry plant known as Ohio's Treasure as described herein, illustrated and identified by the characteristics set forth above.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

(1) The accompanying photographs show typical characteristics of the new variety, all color plate references are from The Royal Horticultural Society (R.H.S.), London, UK SW1P 2PE, 4.sup.th edition, 2001, Colour Plates:

(2) FIG. 1. shows a long floricane truss which arose from a basal bud of Ohio's Treasure with leaves removed to show the distribution of immature fruit, cane waxiness, and the color, size and pattern of thorns during the growing season.

(3) FIG. 2. shows a vegetative rat tail cane tip with its more needle-like thorns in October.

(4) FIG. 3. shows the apical section of a primocane fruiting cluster of Ohio's Treasure, showing the exposure of Ohio's Treasure fruit as grown in an unheated tunnel. The distance from the left to right margin of the illustration is 4 feet.

(5) FIG. 4. shows the progression of Ohio's Treasure fruit ripening from flowering to overripe (far right). The colors of the fruit when compared to the R.H.S. Colour Plates are: the green color fruit in the second and third fruit from the left (145B) the partially red fruit (44A), the black purple fruit third from the right (186A and 186B) and the glossy black (ripe) and dull black (over ripe) fruit (202A) on the right.

(6) FIG. 5. shows a primocane fruiting Ohio's Treasure plant in August as grown in a field in Wilmington, Ohio.

(7) FIG. 6. shows the purple black color of unripe, but harvestable Ohio's Treasure fruit and RHS. Colour Plate No. N186A and B, and the black ripe fruit near RHS Colour Plate No. 202.

(8) Colors in the drawings are only approximated, in cases where the colors in the drawings differ from the R.H.S. color designation given herein, the R.H.S. designation should be considered the most accurate.

DESCRIPTION OF THE NEW CULTIVAR

(9) The following is a detailed description of Ohio's Treasure, including fruit production, together with the cultivar's morphological characteristics. Ohio's Treasure is a species hybrid, which contains a predominance of Rubus occidentalis L. genetic background and traits and would be botanically classified in that species commonly referred to as black raspberries. The description is based on information from plants grown in the greenhouses at Oakland, Md. or the breeding field in Wilmington, Ohio.

(10) Cane Types Based on Floral Pattern: Ohio's Treasure produces only crown suckers (=canes or shoots) and average 8.5 new canes per plant in the second year and beyond. During the growing season, all trusses and canes are light green colored (RHS Colour Plate No. 191C). Canes have a strong waxy coating (FIGS. 1, 2 and 3) which is easily removed with finger contact. Depending on plant vigor, half of the canes branch the first year after planting and are semi-erect and readily branch by the second year of a plant's growth. In the second year, four types of canes are observed. 1. For a vegetative cane which terminates in a rat tail suitable for tip layering (FIG. 2), total node number per cane averages 89 for second year plants; cane length averages 265 cm. Two spines on average occur on each midcane node, or 20 spines per 30 cm. Spines are more numerous and reduced in size on the apical rat tail section of vegetative canes. Each cane produce mid cane branches 5 times on average. No fruit are produced on these primocanes during the first year. 2. For basal floricane trusses, total node number averages 35, with 16.5 of the nodes bearing flowers and fruit, truss length averages 92.7 cm. (FIG. 1). Number of thorns per node average 3.5 or 42 per 30 cm of cane. Long basal floricane trusses average 4 short branches which can be considered as part of the floral truss. On average 52.8 fruit are produced per basal floricane truss. 3. For an unpruned primocane that is terminated by a flower cluster, on average, total node number per cane is 46, with 33 of the basal nodes staying vegetative and the top 13 nodes bearing flowers and fruit (FIG. 3). Total length of fruiting primocane canes averages 141 cm. Number of thorns per node are 1.5 or 14.5 spines per 30 cm of cane. Unpruned and floral canes also produce 5 branches. On average, 86.5 fruit are produced per unpruned primocane. 4. For pruned (apex removed) primocane laterals terminated by flowers, fruit is borne on lateral branches which arise from axillary buds. The total node number per lateral is, on average, 26, with 7.5 nodes producing flowers and fruit. Primocane lateral length averages 41 cm. Number of thorns per node average 3.3 or 63 thorns per 30 cm of cane. Primocane lateral branches average 0.8 secondary lateral branches. On average, each lateral produces 22.7 fruit.

(11) For all buds not used in the first year of primocane growth for production of fruit, typical black raspberry floricane trusses form. These trusses average 36.6 cm in length and 15.1 nodes, of which, the most apical 4.3 nodes on average produce fruit. Fruit per truss averages 9.4.

(12) Main cane diameter at the 30 cm height averages 1.0 cm. Canes are generally semi erect. Cane coloration on all canes during the growing season is light greyed-green, reminiscent of RHS Colour Plate No 191C. Canes develop their normal woody color in the fall changing from green to the red blush color (RHS Colour Plate No. 61A) then to dark purple (RHS Colour Plate No. N77A). Finally, canes develop a dark violet blue (RHS Colour Plate No. N186C or 187A) at their typical cane death after flowering.

(13) Thorn shape is typical of black raspberry, stout, with a winged base narrowing apically to a thin needle which is slightly basal pointing (FIGS. 1 and 3). A full sized thorn length is approximately 3 mm. Ohio's Treasure thorn color is similar to the cane greyed-green color during the early growing season (RHS Colour Plate No. 191C). By the last months of the growing season, base of the thorn darkens to red, then violet red (RHS Colour Plate Nos. N77A and N77B). The tip of the thorn becomes brown (RHS Colour Plate No. 177C). A similar pattern occurs with lateral buds, which turn green to red violet (RHS Colour Plate Nos. 77A and 77B) and are typical in size and shape of the species. No secondary buds were observed on Ohio's Treasure.

(14) The lower surface of all Ohio's Treasure leaves is pubescent grey-green resembling RHS Colour Plate No. 191B and 191C. The upper surfaces of both primocane leaves are medium green, most closely in hue to RHS Colour Plate No. 137A and 137B, depending on the amount of N fertilization and time of season. Senescing leaves have a green yellow color resembling RHS Colour Plate No. 146A. Fall coloration includes red interveinal areas (RHS Colour Plate No. 61A). Leaves abscise readily in October and November. Petioles, petiolules and major veins are waxy and similar in color to the undersurface of the leaves, RHS Colour Plate No. 191C.

(15) Vigorous plants have leaves that are greater than 98% trifoliolate, with only an occasional monofoliolate leaf in the apex of a fruiting cluster, among the fruit. The trifoliolate terminal leaflet is, on average, 4.7 cm. wide and 8.1 cm. long on floricane trusses and 6.2 cm wide and 9 cm. long on primocane trusses. The trifoliolate maximum leaf width, measured from apex of the lateral leaflet to the opposite lateral leaflet apex is, on average, 12.9 cm. on floricane trusses and 15.0 cm on primocanes. The width of the basal lateral leaflet for trifoliolate floricane truss and primocane leaves averaged 3.4 cm and 4.1 cm., respectively. Leaf size is smaller at the cane tips in fruiting clusters and on rat tails where the length of a monofoliolate leaf averages 5.8 cm in length and 1.8 cm in width.

(16) The trifoliolate leaf petiole and petiolule lengths averaged 2.6 cm. and 1.1 cm. respectively on floricanes and 3.7 cm. and 1.8 cm on larger primocane leaves. Petioles, petiolules and leaf veins have a similar color to the midseason primocane (RHS Colour Plate No. 191C). Petioles have between 2 and 4 reduced size thorns, with 1 or 2 very reduced sized, more needle-like thorns occurring on the leaf midrib. Lateral leaflets are sessile and join at the petiole apex with the apical leaf petiolule. Leaf serration is relatively simple sawtooth with uneven teeth size. Leaves have moderate laminar puckering and venation pattern are common for most cultivars of black raspberry and cannot be used to distinguish this cultivar. Leaf veins are moderately pronounced on the undersurface of the leaf, with less than 20% of the circumference buried in the leaf lamina. Leaf stipules are bladelike, less than a mm in width, and 0.4 cm in length on floricane leaves but 0.8 cm long on larger primocane leaves.

(17) The unscented flower morphology and early fruit morphology is typical of most black raspberry cultivars, having five white (RHS Colour Plate No. 155D) petals that average 0.7 to 0.9 cm. long, 0.3 to 0.4 cm. wide; petals abscise after pollination. The receptacle averages 0.7 cm in diameter, producing a flower diameter when flattened, approximately 2 cm in diameter on larger early flowers and 1.5 cm on secondary or tertiary truss position flowers. Basal floricane long trusses occasionally have flowers with 6 to 9 petals. Flowers have five 0.7 to 0.9 cm. long, 0.3 to 0.4 cm. wide at the base triangular grey green sepals (RHS Colour Plate No. 191C) on green peduncles (RHS Colour Plate No. 194B) which are less waxy than the rest of the cane and its attachments (FIG. 1). The internal sepal surfaces have two very thin stripes of pubescence running along their outside length.

(18) Mid season floricane flowers have on average 43 pistils on midseason fruit and a similar number of anthers, 38.4; primocane flowers have 57.4 pistils and 34.5 anthers. Both anthers and pistils seem to be functional at fertilization; cheese cloth covered flowers on screenhouse grown plants set seed. Anther, anther filament and pistil color is similar to RHS Colour Plate Nos. 160C, 160D and 144D, respectively; none of these traits can be used to identify Ohio's Treasure (FIG. 4, left). Peduncle length is 1.5 cm. with an average of 21.1 thorns per peduncle.

(19) Floricane flower trusses are typical determinate umbiliform cyme clusters, with most fruit clustered at the truss apex; typically 4 of the nodes produce flowers. Primocane flower trusses are more racimiform, with fruiting extending 13 nodes down the main cane and sometimes borne on short laterals with reduced leaves (FIG. 3). A typical (unpruned) primocane fruited cluster had the following number of fruit per node starting at the apex: 5, 2, 3, 3, 2, 3, 3, 2, 3, 4, 3, 6, 5, 5, 3, 1 followed by barren buds to the base of the cane, which are capable of fruiting after winter chilling. For each node which produces a branch with leafs, or branched peduncle with reduced leaves, the apical flower ripens first, as occurs in determinate cyme flower structures.

FRUIT PRODUCTION

(20) As a result of the 4 types of fruiting patterns possible with Ohio's Treasure, the length of harvest season can be extended to 91 days of harvest over 105 calendar days. In overwintered pots in tunnels in western Maryland (2900 ft elevation), floricane trusses from chilled buds begin to ripen on June 27.sup.th, are midseason (50% harvest) on July 8.sup.th and stop fruiting on July 14.sup.th. Fruit weight averages 1.7 grams and overall yield is 437 grams per plant. Basal floricane long trusses commence harvest on July 16.sup.th, are midseason on July 26.sup.th and stop fruiting on August 1.sup.st. Fruit weight averages 1.9 grams and overall yield is 184 grams per plant. Primocane fruiting starts on unpruned canes and ends on pruned (summer topped) canes. The first unpruned cane harvest starts on August 16.sup.th, is midseason on August 21.sup.st and stops fruiting on September 5.sup.th; fruit weight averaged 1.8 grams (FIG. 7). Cut or summer topped primocanes start fruiting on September 12.sup.th, are midseason on September 20.sup.th and stop fruiting on October 11.sup.th; fruit weight averaged 2.1 grams. October harvest is not particularly large in western Maryland as frost is common in late September. Unripe fruit was wasted, however no attempt was made at measuring cold damaged, unripe, fruit. Over the year, total per plant yield was 930.3 grams and average fruit weight (total weight of harvest/total number of fruit) over the whole season was 1.9 grams.

(21) The season gap between the end of the floricane and basal floricane crop and the beginning of this primocane crop is 14 days, compared to 39 days for the early red raspberry spring and fall fruiting cultivar Jaclyn (U.S. Plant Pat. No. 15,647) Ohio's Treasure fruit size and weight are moderate, but relatively consistent through the season, perhaps larger in the fall because of the cooler temperatures or natural anatomy and behavior of the different fruiting structures. For average fruit of 1.9 grams, fruit length (base to apex) is 1.34 cm and fruit width is 1.83 cm., making the shape of Ohio's Treasure fruit round and somewhat squat (FIG. 6). The receptacle cavity averages 0.83 cm. Thus, the fruit width to receptacle cavity is 45% of the fruit diameter, similar to the round fruited red raspberry, Josephine (U.S. Plant Pat. No. 12,173, which has a cavity 40% of the fruit diameter. For this sample, average number of formed drupelets was 57.4 and average number of aborted (undeveloped) drupelets was 3.4 per fruit. Thus, drupelet set was 94%. The uneven appearance of Ohio's Treasure is not evidently due to aborted drupelets. XEF-o1, a parent of Ohio's Treasure exhibited a similar tendency toward uneven drupelet formation, therefore a genetic cause for this appearance is possible. Average drupelet weight was 33 mg, which was consistent over fruit from 1.0 to 2.6 grams in weight.

(22) Ohio's Treasure fruit are black (RHS Colour Plate No. 202A) (FIGS. 4, 5 and 6), cohesive, and under normal circumstances, the fruit does not shatter under pressure of hand harvest. Except when temperatures fall into the 50's during the day, slightly unripe fruit is pickable when purple black (RHS Colour Plate No. 186A). The texture of the fruit is relatively softer than other commercially grown eastern US-grown black raspberry cultivars known to us, reminiscent of older black raspberry varieties. Ripe fruit progresses from glossy to dull at overripe, typical of the species (FIG. 4).

PEST AND DISEASE RESISTANCE

(23) No reaction has been noted to black raspberry pests, as the test plants have been grown in tunnels, with lower disease and insect incidence. Field grown plants are free of orange rust, but an insufficient amount of time has passed to determine whether there is a practical resistance to this fungus from the immune red raspberry parents used. Fruit is usually free from Botrytis rot in the tunnel, but field grown plants, fruit rot can develop. Mildew infestation in the tunnel has not been substantial, requiring no sprays for control.

DIFFERENCE FROM OTHER BLACK RASPBERRY

(24) The following characteristics are useful in distinguishing Ohio's Treasure from other cultivars and can be useful for cultivar identification. Plants used for these observations were grown in uncrowded pots in clear plastic unshaded tunnels or greenhouses. 1. When cane density is below 9 canes per pot on plants at least two years old, Ohio's Treasure plants produce fruit on unused overwintered buds on floricanes, either late fruiting long basal trusses or typical black raspberry trusses that arise from more apical buds. Unlike commercially available black raspberry cultivars, Ohio's Treasure will also produce fruit later on primocanes which terminate in flower clusters either as a main cane and cane branches or as forced branches from summer pruned primocanes. This combination of fruiting sites results in harvest over 91 days, compared to less than a month for floricane fruiting cultivars. 2. For non-pruned primocanes, fruit appear on average at the 34.sup.th node from the base of the plant. If the main cane is topped, or the apex removed by pruning, the lateral branches grow, on average, 18 nodes before flowering. By comparison, Jaclyn (U.S. Plant Pat. No. 15,647), Marcianna (U.S. Plant Pat. No. 21,007), Caroline (U.S. Plant Pat. No. 10,412) and Heritage (unpatented) produce red raspberry fruit on primocanes, on average, at the 15.sup.th, 24.sup.th, 25.sup.th and 29.sup.th nodes, respectively. Although no data was presented on the location of the first node that produces fruit on Explorer primocanes, fruiting Explorer plants were reported to be shorter than Ohio's Treasure plants although the observations were made in very different climates. 3. Ohio's Treasure fruit is larger than Explorer and similar or superior in weight to all other black raspberry cultivars except Jewel (unpatented), Black Hawk (unpatented) and Dundee (unpatented). 4. Unlike all the other cultivars, larger Ohio's Treasure fruit are not smooth, having an uneven appearance because of mismatched drupelet size. This lack of smoothness is probably genetic in nature; XEF-o1, a parent, has similar rough fruit. On average, less than 6% of Ohio's Treasure drupelets abort and fail to develop; aborted drupelet because of poor seed set is a major reason for uneven or crumbly fruits in Rubus. 5. An identifying cane structure in R. occidentalis L. is the formation of rat tail growth in early fall which is used in propagation of black raspberries through tip layering, the insertion of apex of a shoot into rooting medium or soil to stimulate the formation of a whole, rooted, plant. Ohio's Treasure produces classic rat tail growth and these structures tip layer (root) readily. In Rubus, thorn color pattern and size vary by genotype, but are consistent over most environments and are typical of the variety or species. Ohio's Treasure has thorn number and form typical of black raspberries on its canes throughout the growing season, the exception being a greater amount of more needle like thorns on rat tail growth. This intermediate thorn pattern and quantity is the most reminiscent character of Ohio's Thornless to R. idaeus L. the red raspberry. Compared to Explorer, the only other fall bearing, moderately large sized, black raspberry, Ohio's Treasure thorns are more numerous. Like Explorer, the number of thorns is greater in the fruit peducle. 6. Flowers on long, basal floricane flower trusses and primocane flower truss morphology is more racimiform than then the rest of the plant and other varieties and represents a key identifying feature of Ohio's Treasure. Flowers on these structures can have more than 5 petals