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Kevin Schooley

Ontario Berry Growers Association

Kemptville, Ontario

BIENNIAL RASPBERRY PRODUCTION WHAT IS IT?

Plants bear fruit every other year

alternate year mowing

primocane suppression in fruiting years

equivalent yields to an annual system

BENEFITS OF BIENNIAL PRODUCTION No Hand Pruning (maybe a little)

Less Labour to Manage

Decreased Disease Pressure

Fruit is More Accessible

PYO Customers may pick more

Good Yields

Increases Net Return $$$$

BIENNIAL RASPBERRY PRODUCTION MANAGEMENT - Vegetative Year (after

mowing) No fruiting canes are present

primocanes are trained in narrow rows leaving approx. 25 canes

establish trellis system anytime prior to fruiting

manage accordingly (fertility, IPM)

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MANAGEMENT - FRUITING YEAR

Establish Trellis System - removable or permanent system

Suppress primocanes once they are 10-15cm in height using Ignite or Liberty

Suppress canes up until bloom or fruit set

Manage the crop accordingly Harvest the fruit, take the money to the

bank

Primocane Suppression

Ignite aka Liberty registered on raspberries in 1996 similar to Gramoxone in activity, 2-3 days

before results are observed contact killer with some local systemic

activity applied with a flat fan nozzle, low pressure avoid drift - wind, shrouded boom timing is critical- correct rate and water

volume, sunny weather is ideal

Primocane Suppression

Target primocanes when approximately 10-15 cm tall

Fruiting canes

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Biennial Raspberry Production“original concerns” New Management Technique

Limited Experience with Ignite

Primocane Suppression Timing Critical

Multiple Suppression Treatments

Trellis System a Necessity

Transition Period Management

What Have We Learned

Site Selection is critical Drainage

Wind protection

Wind Breaks

Dramatic height change

Cane Density

optimum density of 25 canes per metre, 8 per foot, based on a 10 foot spacing

may require wider rows to get enough canes

More canes equals a greater yield only to a certain point

Light interception is limited if density is too high

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Mowing of Canes

canes must be dormant

late fall mowing preferred to spring mowing (November/December)

do not mow too low or scalp canes, appears to affect cane height the following year

Cane Height

can be a challenge with some varieties

increased density and width creates competition

fall mowing has been observed to increase cane height

Wind may be the single most important deterrent to cane height

Irrigation

water demands vary based on soil type

from bloom through harvest growers are applying 2-3 inches per week on well drained soils

more frequent watering is better than fewer long periods of irrigation

vegetative canes require less water than fruiting canes

Fertility

adequate nitrogen is a necessity for good cane height and fruit production

avoid late nitrogen applications to avoid hardiness concerns

drip irrigation can be used for early summer fertilizer applications

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Weed Management

do not use Casoran on an annual basis spot treatment of Casoran can be utilized

against hard to control perennial weeds Ignite alone will provide reasonable weed

control but you will get late season escapes

utilize Simazine, Sinbar and Devrinol within the fruiting year for better weed control

residual herbicides are a must in the vegetative year

Primocane Suppression

Ignite/Liberty works best on sunny days, Gramoxone on cloudy days

target primocanes 6” (15 cm) or shorter

perfect suppression isn’t necessary

one application often enough

contact with lower section of the fruiting canes has not caused any problems

delivery can be a challenge

Cane Diseases

lime sulphur on fruiting canes will reduce inoculum levels

applications of Captan for fruit rot control is also beneficial

avoid wounding of developing primocanes to reduce incidence of cane blight

Cane diseases appear to be less prevalent in this system

Trellis Systems

easily removed for mowing of canes

cost effective

designed to be functional and easy (quick) to install trellis strings

able to adapt to changes in cane height

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Insect Control

annual preventative drench treatments for raspberry crown borer

mite management critical in non fruiting year (has not been a common problem)

manage other pests as needed

SWD has had an impact on later fruiting varieties

Yields

primarily based on cane density

cane disease, insects, fertility, winter injury and water management play a role

Far easier to harvest fruit

Age of Planting

Plantings 20 years of age are still productive under this system

Virus has been an issue in older plantings (TomRSV)

Established plantings can easily be converted

Biennial Raspberry Production“Transition Period” Established Planting

primocane suppress half your planting

treat other half as an annual system

pick from entire planting (very high yield, marketing challenge)

mow plants that were primocane suppressed once plants are dormant

prune out fruiting canes of annual system

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Transition Period

Established Planting year 2 treat mowed plants as described in

vegetative phase

fruiting plants should be primocane suppressed

fruited plants are mowed once dormant

it takes two seasons for transition

New Planting

plant half your acreage the first year and the other half the following year

let the canes fruit the year after planting if enough canes are present

do not primocane suppress

*mowing after first year of growth will increase cane density

New Planting

hand prune fruiting canes once dormant

Narrow rows with a mower

try to leave 25 primocanes

primocane suppress this planting the following season

Biennial Raspberry ProductionSummary Technique has been successful at

several Ontario farms

Potential to increase net profit

Labour Cost and Management reduced

Pickers Love the Visibility of the Fruit and Ease of Picking

Plantings with very long lives