Osage Blackberry: variety description and characteristics, planting and cultivation

Cultivated blackberry, in contrast to the sour and small creeping wild, is distinguished by large berries and strong straight shoots, almost devoid of thorns. Such plants are in demand in home gardens and are bred industrially, because the berries are he althy and tasty. The newly bred Osage blackberry is a prime example of smart modern breeding.

History of selection

The Osage Blackberry was bred by a team of breeders at the University of Arkansas (USA) led by Dr. John Clark. It took many years to work, the variety was registered in 2012.Osage blackberries are now actively spreading all over the world due to their excellent technical and taste characteristics.

Description and characteristics of the variety

Osage Blackberry is a drought tolerant crop of early ripening, with straight strong shoots devoid of thorns. Differs in average winter hardiness, withstanding frosts no more than -13 degrees Celsius.

Berries are large, weighing, on average, 6 grams, rounded. They have a dense sweet pulp, painted in a rich purple hue. Productivity is high - up to 5 kilograms per plant. Osage blackberries are transportable, eat fresh, freeze and process.

Bushes of medium height (up to 170 centimeters) and sprawling, leaves are dark green, serrated, pointed. Pinkish or reddish with a purple tint, the flowers are medium or large in size. Blackberries are collected in upward-pointing brushes.

Pros and cons

Pros and consStrong, non-lodging shoots that simplify planting care and harvesting.No spikes.Delicious berries with dense pulp, transferring transportation.The versatility of the use of fruits.Drought resistance.Excellent taste characteristics.Low resistance to cold.Not the largest size of berries.Not often found in the free market.

The Osage blackberry's advantages outweigh its disadvantages, and its qualities as an industrial crop deserve more attention and spread.

Features of cultivation

In order for the blackberry to grow well and produce annual crops, it will need to be properly planted and provided with competent care.

Timing

Planting is carried out in the spring, after the start of the growing season, but in the southern regions, with a long autumn and early onset heat, it is better to plant a plant in the fall. So the Osage blackberry has time to develop powerful roots by the cold and winter well.

Choosing a seat

Osage Blackberry requires a neutral soil acidity, does not tolerate alkaline and calcareous sites. Most suitable for it are slightly acidic soils. The place is chosen sunny or with light penumbra, not in the sun, but not in deep shade. It is important to protect plantings from cold northern winds.

Selection and preparation of planting material

For planting, take one-year-old plants with two strong shoots, with at least one bud at the base. The root system should be strong, developed, without rotten or dried roots. Before planting, the roots can be dipped in a clay mash.

Plant pattern

14 days before planting, they dig holes up to half a meter deep. 50 grams of potassium nitrate and 125 grams of superphosphate, rotted organic matter, are added to the pit. On dense soils, the addition of river sand will be required; rotten weathered peat can be added to acidify the soil.

Planted plants with an interval of 1 meter, the distance between rows - up to 2 meters. Cut the bush to a height of no more than a quarter of a meter. Plantings are watered and mulched.

Nuances of plant care

The Osage blackberry bush can grow in one place up to 15 years, while for its full development and fruiting, you will need to follow the basic rules of care. The plant is not capricious, unpretentious.

Water and fertilize

Osage blackberries are renowned for their drought tolerance, but abundant watering without waterlogging during the growing season and fruit formation will result in a bountiful harvest of sweet berries.

You can start feeding plants 2-3 years after planting. Until then, they have enough nutrients obtained during planting. In the spring, nitrogen fertilizers (ammonium nitrate) are applied, during the formation of the crop - potash and phosphorus, as well as organic matter. Loose rotted compost or humus performs a triple function - nourishes, retains moisture in the soil and does not allow it to cake, compact.

Preparing for winter

After picking the berries, the Osage blackberry shoots are untied from the supports and bent to the soil, after cutting out all the dry and weak branches, and shortening the wintering ones by a third. Remove all residues from the surface of the soil, including fallen leaves and old mulch. Garbage must be burned.

The earth should be fertilized, dug up and covered with a layer of fresh mulch. This will not only protect the roots from freezing, but also prevent them from drying out during wintering.Bent shoots are fixed on a rounded shape, covered with non-woven material, warmed with spruce branches or straw mats in cold weather.

Diseases and pests

Because Osage is a new blackberry variety, it is he althy and disease resistant. However, it is not recommended to place bushes close to raspberries, as the plants have the same diseases and pests.

Among the most common diseases:

1. Anthracnose.
2. Purple spotting.
3. Septoria.
4. Gray rot.
5. Powdery mildew.

In the presence of fungal diseases, plants are treated with specialized fungicides, given that copper-containing preparations have severe toxicity. That is why the processing is carried out three times:

1. Early spring, with the start of sap flow.
2. Before bud formation and opening.
3. Immediately after flowering.

It is forbidden to spray on ovaries and fruits. Pests (crimson beetle, bronzovok, deer beetles, aphids and ticks) are destroyed with insecticides such as Decisa, Aktara, Aktellika or Karbofos, carrying out treatments in a time similar to the use of fungicides. The earth under the bushes must be loosened, and dug up for the winter.

When viral diseases are detected, the affected plant is dug up and burned.

Methods of reproduction

Blackberries are propagated by the following methods:

1. Dividing the bush. When transplanting from the mother plant, several young plants with a well-developed root system are taken.
2. Root offspring. At the end of spring, strong shoots are dug up and planted without touching the mother bush. To obtain a large number of root offspring, vegetative side shoots are pinned to the ground or dug into shallow trenches. Soon the shoot gives its own roots, and new shoots develop from the buds.
3. Green cuttings. This method is often used to preserve all the qualities of the mother plant. Not lignified cuttings are cut from it, having one bud and a leaf, planted in a greenhouse until roots form, then - in a school for acclimatization and hardening. One-year-old plants with powerful roots are planted in a permanent place.

One Osage blackberry bush, selected for a mother plantation, can become the ancestor of an entire plantation.

Cleaning and storage

The Osage blackberry has properties that those who want to grow and breed it need to know.The ripening season begins in the last decade of June. Blackberries ripen unevenly and do not ripen when plucked, so they are harvested selectively, removing only fully ripe ones. Because of this, the harvest is stretched in time.

The fruits are delicate, so they act quickly and accurately. The collected berries are placed in a cool shady place, not mine, as they will immediately deteriorate. This can be done immediately before use or processing. In the cold, fresh berries can remain intact for up to 20 days.

To preserve vitamins, minerals and valuable nutrients, Osage blackberries are best frozen using the shock method. Two options are used:

1. Fresh berries.
2. Pure with added sugar.

Before processing, fruits without stalks are soaked in cold water with s alt added to remove trapped insects, then quickly washed, dried and frozen.Such blackberries are usable for 3 years. Wipe the berries with sugar in a ratio of 1:1. The mixture is packed in a suitable container and frozen. The shelf life of the product is one and a half years.

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