Production systems for machine harvesting semi-erect eastern Thornless blackberries with fresh-market quality fruit

There is increased interest in growing blackberries in the United States fo r the fresh market. However, scarcity and cost of harvest labor have inhibi ted commercialization of semi-erect, eastern thornless blackberries. Fruit detached with existing bramble harvesters from plants trained on a vertical ly oriented "I" trellis do not have fresh market quality. We developed a ca ne training/trellis system in semi-erect blackberry where canes are oriente d horizontally with fruit positioned below during the harvest. Concomitantl y, a new over-the-row mechanical harvester that uses vibrating nylon rods o n a drum to shake fruit from horizontally trained canes has been developed and tested. The combination of innovative trellis design, cane training pra ctices, and new harvesting technology has allowed for efficient machine rem oval of high quality fruit that is acceptable for fresh market sales. This system may become a viable alternative production option to hand harvesting .