ISHS Acta Horticulturae 777: IX International Rubus and Ribes Symposium
EVALUATION OF BLACKCURRANT CULTIVARS FOR MACHINE HARVESTING IN ESTONIA |
| Authors: | A. Kikas, L. Arus, A. Libek, H. Kaldmäe |
| Keywords: | Ribes nigrum, cultivars, yield, fruit weight, harvesting |
| Abstract:
Due to high labour costs, commercial blackcurrant producers use mechanical harvesting. In Estonia the main blackcurrant cultivar used in commercial plantations is ‘Öjebyn’, although it has a moderate yield and is susceptible to the blackcurrant gall mite Cecidophyopsis ribis. The goal of this study was to find better blackcurrant cultivars for mechanical harvesting. The experiment with 3 cultivars, ‘Pamyati Vavilova’, ‘Zagadka’, and ‘Öjebyn’ was established in 2001. The mechanical harvesting plot included 50 bushes per cultivar in four replications. For the comparison handpicking method was used on 3 bushes in four replications. The plot was harvested using harvesting machine “Joonas” in 2003, 2004 and 2005. The yields of ‘Pamyati Vavilova’ and ‘Zagadka’ were higher than that of ‘Öjebyn’, when they were either machine harvested or handpicked in 2004 and 2005. The berries of the two test cultivars were also much bigger. | |
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