Prospects of using cordon-free bush technology in the commercial production of Black Satin variety blackberry

Krymsk Experiment Breeding Station of VIR, N.I. Vavilov All-Russian Institute of Plant Genetic Resources, Krymsk, Krasnodar Region, Russia

^* Corresponding author: kross67@mail.ru

Abstract

As a result of the work, the commercial plantations’ design elements of prostrate and semi-prostrate forms of garden blackberry (Eubatus Focke) were optimized. When constructing the agrocenosis of semi-prostrate blackberry forms according to the cordon-free bush technology, it is proposed to place the planting material in a single-line planting with a distance of at least one meter between plants on one meter wide rows covered with black polymer film with a tube laid under it for drip irrigation and fertigation. The growing annual shoots are recommended to be shortened to a height of 80-90 cm, and the newly formed shoots of the second and subsequent orders - pinched at 30-40 cm height. As a result of these operations, fruit buds are laid on shortened shoots for the next year, which does not require their fastening to the cordon. According to the field experiments in the cordon-free bush Black Satin variety plantings, the output of commercial products for the research years increased more than twice as that from a unit of area at the support-cordon placement.