Lateral Cane Lengths Affect Yield Components in ‘Triple Crown’ Blackberry on Rotating Cross-Arm Trellis and Cane Training System

Abstract

Primocanes of mature ‘Triple Crown’ blackberry plants were trained on the rotating cross-arm (RCA) trellis. By the end of the summer, as many as 30 lateral branch canes with lengths >3.5 m had developed on three primocanes that had been bent at a 0.50-m height and allowed to extend ˜1.5 m in a horizontal orientation. In winter, the lateral branch canes were shortened to a length of 1.5 m or left unpruned. Data on lateral branch cane length, percent bud break, cluster (e.g., inflorescence) numbers, fruit per cluster, fruit weight, and yield were collected in 2012 and 2013. Pruning reduced lateral branch cane length and axillary bud number but yield components (% bud break, numbers of clusters, and development of inflorescences with more flowers) increased.