Propagation of Small Fruits

New Zealand Journal of Agriculture, Volume 73, Issue 6, 16 December 1946, Page 509

Propagation of Small Fruits

SUCCESS OF HASPBERDT PLANTATIONS DEPENDS ON CHOICE OF STOCK

By

J. P. HUDSON,

Horticulturist, Wellington.

TF soil, moisture, and climate are favourable, and proper cultural routine is followed, the productive capacity of a raspberry plantation will depend to a great extent on the standard of the canes planted. Raspberry canes used for planting should be true to name, of a proved high-yielding strain suitable for the locality, free from “rogues” (either chance seedlings or other named varieties), well rooted, and reasonably free from virus disease, fungus disease, and insect pests. <A prospective grower should seriously consider delaying planting raspberries rather than accept and plant canes which do not measure up to these specifications. First-class plantations with a long and profitable life can come only from first-class material, and a grower who plants canes which are below standard is putting his plantation under a heavy handicap from the outset.

'T’O plant young canes taken from a A plantation which is failing is clearly wrong, as they are likely to be affected by .fungus diseases, which are thus introduced into the new plantations; or, even worse, they may be infected by virus disease, which makes ' failure of the. new plantation certain. Virus diseases are progressive: A. plantation ' gradually becomes more seriously -attacked, and 'there is -little chance of improving its health by roguing. •; If canes are taken from a plantation i containing' ' virus disease (and the incidence of virus diseases on raspberries in New Zealand has. not yet been ■. fully, investigated),. the new planting'will start ,at the stage of infection which the old plantation has reached. ’ : '

Seedling Canes are Worthless , Moreover, seedling, canes are ■ constantly appearing \in commercial •plantations. Few growers remove them all as they appear, and some seedlings may be . included in canes lifted from fruiting beds, especially as they are lifted in winter when there are nodeaves to help identification of the seedlings, which . often . produce .vigorous canes : but are worthless for fruiting, .: ’. \ . '

The health, identity, and cropping capacity of raspberry canes taken from fruiting beds can be judged only by inspection of the canes during the fruiting season, and the prospective purchaser should buy canes only from beds

on which he has seen the previous fruit crop and on which he is satisfied that the stock is true to name, healthy, vigorous, and cropping well. .

Loganberry Propagation

Loganberries are usually propagated by tip layers, which can be taken from fruiting beds without seriously interfering with the work of. ’the plantation.. In late \ summer, when growth of the new canes has practically finished, the end of each cane should be buried , for 6in. in a hole scooped in the ground as illustrated. The part of the cane which is buried will root strongly, and the end of the cane usually grows a little and appears above the ground by autumn. The rooted layers can be dug up in late autumn- or the following spring and planted out either into their fruiting: quarters or, preferably, into a nursery bed where they , are grown on for a season to produce large, well-rooted

plants for planting out into their permanent positions the ■ following autumn. Though propagation in this way can be carried out with, little interference with the work of the plantation,' it sometimes means that tying in the new canes has to be unduly delayed, especially if the weaving system of training is followed, as the new canes cannot be tied in until their tips have rooted and been severed.

Instead of propagating from the fruiting plants, there is much to be said in favour of planting a few stools in a spare corner and using them solely for stock raising, cutting off all canes nearly to ground level every winter and rooting the tips of each new cane that grows from the stools. Twenty or 30 new canes are often produced by each ' stool treated in this way, whereas not more than 6 or 8 canes to a crown are usually left in a fruiting □plantation.

Not only does this method ensure a rapid rate of increase, but the young plants produced are less likely to be affected,by cane diseases, as there is no old cane from which infection may spread. 7 . ;

Training Loganberries ■'.New. canes of loganberries, youngberries, boysenberries, etc., are now well developed and . must be protected against . accident, as broken canes cannot now be replaced by new growths and a shortage of new . canes : means less fruit next season. If the new canes are : allowed to. sprawl over the ground between the . rows, a few are almost certain to be damaged by pickers.

One method of handling the young canes is to lay them parallel with, and under, the bottom wire, .keeping them in /that position by stakes. That certainly, serves '.to, keep - the canes. out of harm’s way, but it is doubtful if they / get enough' sunshine ■ to ripen them off properly. Moreover, fungus spores, washing down in .rain drips from -- the . fruiting canes. above, are certain <to infect ,the young growths > below . with any - diseases present.

\ Wherever practicable, both on commercial " plantations and •' in the . home garden, it is advisable to ■ tie in . the young- canes to some support, either to / the side of, or. preferably above, the ” fruiting - canes ~ so that they are protected from accident; less likely , to be infected by fungus disease from the old '. cane, and <in a. sunny and airy position. Overseas commercial growers : have ■ devised . several ways ■ of training young canes in this way, one of the most ; popular . methods being -to ; tie the new canes in a bundle to an extra wire fixed above those to which , the fruiting ; canes are tied. When the old canes have been cut out, after the fruit 1 has been harvested, the new canes are -brought down and trained to the lower /■wires in the usual way. -