Cropping potential in raspberry long cane plants as affected by the number of canes
2016
Palonen, P. | Karhu, S. | Pohjola, M.
Raspberry long cane plants have one-year-old canes with differentiated flower initials, and they are stored dormant at sub-zero temperatures until planted for production of berries. Conditions during raising of the plants greatly affect their productivity. The aim of this work was to examine the influence of cane numbers on the cropping potential and carbohydrate contents of the raspberry long cane plants ('Maurin Makea'). The fruiting plants were grown in a tunnel. In single-cane plants either one or four new primocanes per pot were allowed to grow, whereas in double-cane plants two new primocanes were grown. When only one new cane was produced, the primocanes were taller and thicker with more nodes than when two or four primocanes were grown in a pot. Carbohydrate concentrations in the plants (primocanes and roots) were little affected by the number of the canes. After frigo storage at -1°C for 14 weeks, the plants were forced in a greenhouse to determine their cropping potential. While single-cane plants had less fruiting laterals per cane (11.6) than the double-cane plants (14.3), their lateral shoots were longer with more flowers than the lateral shoots in the plants with four canes. The cropping potential per cane was highest in the plants with a single cane (988 flowers), followed by the plants with two canes (850 flowers), while the cropping potential of the whole plant (pot) was more than three times greater in the plants with four canes (3060 flowers) as compared to the plants with a single cane. We conclude that it is possible to grow new raspberry long cane plants of high quality along with fruiting floricanes. Even highly productive plants with several primocanes can be produced by this means.
Show more [+] Less [-]AGROVOC Keywords
Bibliographic information
This bibliographic record has been provided by National Agricultural Library