Triple Crown Research Articles

Geopark development and community well-being: The case of Kinabalu UNESCO Global Geopark, Sabah, Malaysian Borneo

On May 26, 2023, the Kinabalu UNESCO Global Geopark obtained the UNESCO Global Geopark status, and it was awarded the UNESCO Triple Crown recognition, making it the third geopark globally to receive this honour. Kinabalu UNESCO Global Geopark is located in Sabah, Malaysian Borneo, and it is the nation's second geopark site. Our study aims to investigate the mediating effect of support for geopark development on the relationship between economic, socio-cultural benefits, and perceived costs of geopark development on community well-being. A total of 301 participants, including those from the Kinabalu UNESCO Global Geopark's three areas of Kota Marudu, Ranau and Kota Belud, participated in the study. The findings indicate that community well-being is positively impacted by economic, sociocultural, and support for geopark development. Moreover, the support for geopark development mediates the relationship between economic and socio-cultural benefits towards community well-being. However, the study reveals that perceived costs of geopark development does not have significant effect on both relationships. Our study suggests that the local community recognizes the benefits of Kinabalu UNESCO Global Geopark in the form of income generation and opportunities for employment. However, because the geopark is still in an early stage of development, it is possible that the local community has not yet become aware of its negative aspects. The study proposes thorough and comprehensive guidelines and policies to be put in place to ensure the sustainability of the geopark regions as well as to continuously improve community well-being.

Motivations and Outcomes on Long-Distance Trails: A Case Study of the Means-End of Recreation Scale and Thru-Hikers

Thru-hiking is seeing an unprecedented surge in popularity in recent years, with the numbers of prospective thru-hikers only expected to continue to increase. Amidst this thru-hiking boom, this study used the Means End of Recreation Scale to determine the values and outcomes that motivate thru-hikers to hike and drive their trail selection. Utilizing responses from 268 thru-hikers in an online survey across the United States’ long-distance National Scenic Trails, the study evaluated how “trail variables,” such as (a) direction traveled, (b) experience with previous thru-hikes, and (c) whether a trail is a “Triple Crown” trail impacted thru-hikers’ outcomes from a thru-hike. Non-Triple Crown trail thru-hikers were found to be largely affected by trail attributes, more so than their Triple Crown counterparts. Results reveal outcomes from a thru-hike remain relatively unaffected by many of the evaluated trail variables, suggesting a certain universality in outcomes from a thru-hike, which can inform land managers and trail organizations to better manage the trails and provide the desired experiences to thru-hikers.

How do location, accreditation, and faculty size affect business schools’ ranking?

This study analyzed the impact of location, accreditation, and faculty size on the ranking of elite business schools. It used descriptive statistics and inferential analysis (analysis of covariance) to establish the effect of location on the business schools’ ranking while also controlling the influence (impact) of the covariates (accreditation and faculty size) on the outcomes. It found that location and accreditation type do not significantly affect the business schools’ ranking. The size of the faculty impacted the rankings of the programs. However, the pairwise comparison of the critical factors shows that faculty size and accreditation are more impactful in European business schools than in China, the United States/Canada, and other regions. Finally, smaller business schools (mainly in Europe) pursue Triple Crown accreditation to compete with more extensive, U.S.-based programs, favoring only the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business accreditation.

Breeding and Growth Performance of 'Ningzhi 4', a New Blackberry Cultivar with High Yield Potential and Good Quality in China.

The thornless blackberry cultivar 'Ningzhi 4' was developed by the Institute of Botany, Jiangsu Province and the Chinese Academy of Sciences (Nanjing Botanical Garden Mem. Sun Yat-Sen). The new blackberry cultivar was selected from the 'Kiowa' (female parent) and 'Hull Thornless' (male parent) F1 hybrid. 'Ningzhi 4' had excellent plant characteristics, including thornlessness, semi-erect to erect canes, vigorous growth and good disease resistance. 'Ningzhi 4' had large fruit and high yield. In addition, the parents of the superior hybrid plant were further identified by SSR markers, which provided the basis for the fingerprint of the new blackberry cultivar 'Ningzhi 4'. This is a commercial cultivar to be grown for fruit production for either shipping or local sales. It also has value as a home-garden plant. This unique type of blackberry fruit was a traditional summer fruit. This new cultivar has thornless semi-erect to erect canes and produces high-quality berries with large size, good firmness, excellent flavor, and potential for shipping and postharvest storage. The new blackberry cultivar 'Ningzhi 4' is adapted to all areas of southern China and is expected to replace or complement 'Kiowa', 'Hull Thornless', 'Chester Thornless' and 'Triple Crown'. A local cultivar patent has been approved by the Jiangsu Variety Approval Committee as 'Rubus spp. Ningzhi 4' in 2020 (S-SV-RS-014-2020). In the future, 'Ningzhi 4' could be promoted as an advantageous thornless blackberry cultivar in the main production regions of China.

Oral History in Academic Criminal Justice: Reflections from ACJS “Triple Crown” Luminaries

Preserving and documenting the contributions of leading scholarship within criminology and criminal justice is essential to understanding the history of the field and serves to reaffirm high scholarly standards among the next generation of scholars. The current study, drawing from a leading professional organization within the field, the Academy of Criminal Justice Sciences (ACJS), engages an oral history documentation of the recipients of the three most prestigious ACJS accolades. These awards are bestowed to respected, well-known scholars, although only six total in the history of the organization have been awarded all three, two have since passed away. We conducted in-depth interviews utilizing a semi-structured questionnaire with the four remaining Triple Crown winners. The importance of collaboration with other scholars is a key theme highlighted throughout, including in the capacity of official and unofficial mentors, external funding, publications, and professional organizations, to name a few.

Моніторинг погодних умов осінньо-зимового періоду та їх вплив на морозостійкість рослин ожини звичайної (Rubus fruticosus L.)

Goal. To determine the resistance of blackberry varieties to low temperatures in field and laboratory conditions; to select the most resistant varieties and to investigate the influence of weather conditions on the state of their overwintering. Methods. Laboratory, field, analytical. Results. Weather conditions were monitored in the autumn–winter period of 2019/20 and 2020/21. It was established that the winter months of these years differ significantly in terms of temperature, amount, and type of precipitation. It was noted that the Cacanska Bestrna variety (12.2 points) was characterized by the highest level of frost resistance in field conditions. The average level of frost resistance was fixed for Heaven Can Wait (17.0 points), Loch Tay (14.5 points), and Triple Crown (19.2 points) varieties. The results of the experiment on freezing under artificial conditions showed that the bud and part of the stem on the section through the bud were the most vulnerable to low temperatures, and the middle part of the shoot was the least vulnerable. The buds of the Triple Crown and Loch Tay varieties experienced the least freezing during artificial freezing to–25°C, which indicated their potential frost resistance and more stable fruiting. Conclusions. Coming from the weather conditions in the winter, the period of 2020/21 was a good period for conducting field research on the frost resistance of blackberry varieties, which was characterized by significant temperature changes (minimum temperature in January –20°C, February — –18°C) and sharp thaws (up to +4.5°C). It was determined that the weather conditions of the winter of 2019/20 did not negatively affect the plants in field conditions. However, we assume that the autumn weather conditions of 2019 contributed to a longer period of growth of shoots, which caused a decrease in the resistance of plants to low temperatures. The potential level of frost resistance of the researched varieties under laboratory conditions of freezing to temperatures of–25 and–30°C was established.

The Triple Crown: A Regional Independence Approach to Managing Axillary Pain, A Case Report

BACKGROUND: The regional interdependence model is an approach that can assist in better discerning complex symptom presentations and developing a specific plan of care. CASE PRESENTATION: A 33-year-old female equine stable worker presented with reports of chronic axillary pain limiting work participation. Objective testing revealed radiating axillary pain with thoracic and rib testing, scapular dyskinesis with shoulder girdle and kinetic chain strength deficits, and thoracic spine hypomobility. OUTCOME AND FOLLOW-UP: The patient returned to full-time work in 3 sessions with treatment focused on thoracic/rib mobilization and shoulder loading. Full recovery was facilitated through combined kinetic chain and functional shoulder loading. DISCUSSION: The principles of regional interdependence can play a role in effective and efficient diagnosis and treatment of many orthopaedic conditions. Considering regional interactions can be particularly important for both differential diagnosis and treatment of patients with orthopaedic pathologies where the pain generator is unclear, such as axillary pain. JOSPT Cases 2023;3(1):59–73. Epub: 4 November 2022. doi:10.2519/josptcases.2022.11295

‘A Whole Other World than What I Live in’: Reading Chester Himes, on Campus and at the County Jail

This essay first briefly examines African American novelist Chester Himes’ genre-defying position as prison writer turned detective writer, whose influence is clear not only in the usual suspects such as Walter Mosley but also in the Blaxploitation films of the early 1970s, and in the urban fiction tradition from Donald Goines and Iceberg Slim on down through today’s Triple Crown books and others. I then look at how Himes’ work has been received by the college students and incarcerated people who each spring for the past 20 years have worked together in reading groups set at the local county jail in a project linked to a class I teach, in order to raise questions about genre, audience and pedagogy. The two groups of readers, who may come to see each other as one group over the series of meetings, often develop readings of Himes’ novel that push back against the analysis I present in the classroom.

PRELIMINARY RESULTS REGARDING THE BEHAVIOR OF SOME BLACKBERRIES GENOTYPES IN MOARA DOMNEASCĂ (ILFOV COUNTY) AREA CONDITIONS

Blackberries are an important commercial fruit crop, widely grown. The blackberries contain significant amounts of polyphenol antioxidants such as anthocyanin pigments linked to potential health protection against several human diseases, so the demand is increasing. In order to identify the most suitable varieties for the Vlasia Plain area, in 2020 an experimental plot with 6 stable accessions was established. The cv. ‘Chester’, ‘Dar 8’, ‘Navaho’,‘Polar’, ‘Thornfree’, ‘Triple Crown’, were planted in a plantation scheme 3.0 m × 1.0 m. For each variety, during 2021, ripened fruits were harvested and biometric determinations have been done in the laboratory, being measured fruit weight and diameter, firmness, titratable acidity and pH, all fruit quality indicators. The preliminary results showed that blackberry varieties without thorns are larger than thorny varieties and more suitable for fresh fruit consumption, while the ‘Dar 8’ fruit are not so fragrant, their pulp is stronger, so they are more suitable for processing. The study will continue so statistical analysis can be performed

Leaf blight caused by Didymella glomerata on blackberry in Turkey

ABSTRACT The cultivation of blackberries has recently increased in Turkey, despite the fact that wild blackberry types have grown almost everywhere in the country. During the summer of 2011, leaf blight symptoms were observed in a blackberry vineyard in Karlısu, as well as on wild blackberry plants in Altınözü, Hatay province, Turkey. Based on morphology, fungal isolates obtained from these blighted leaf margins shared similar morphological characteristics and were tentatively identified as Didymella glomerata. To confirm the morphologic identification, the nucleotide sequences of a representative isolate’s ITS, LSU, and tub2 regions of DNA were used. The sequences of three regions were 99–100% identical to D. glomerata isolate sequences in GenBank. Healthy blackberry suckers of the thornless blackberry cultivars ‘Triple Crown’ and ‘Chester’ grown in pots were inoculated with spore suspension on foliar parts under greenhouse conditions for pathogenicity testing. D. glomerata was extremely virulent, causing severe leaf blight in both blackberry cultivars. D. glomerata was constantly isolated from inoculated plants’ leaf lesions. This is the first report of D. glomerata infection of blackberry, a novel host for this pathogen in Turkey and around the world. More research into the biology and management of the disease is required.

Bioactive compounds in blackberry fruits under the conditions of Central Russia

Background. Blackberry is becoming increasingly popular in Russia for its rapid early-fruiting, high self-fertility and late flowering, contributing to longer consumption of fresh berries, a source of antioxidant compounds. There is a need to study the biochemical composition of blackberries.Materials and methods. Fruits of 25 blackberry cultivars and hybrid seedlings from the Institute of Fruit Crop Breeding (VNIISPK) were analyzed for the contents of catechins, leucoanthocyanins, anthocyanins, and total phenolic compounds using the photometric method, and the content of ascorbic acid using the titrimetric method. Statistical data processing was carried out using the methods of variation and correlation analyses.Results. Bioactive compounds (BAC) accumulating in blackberry fruits were studied: ascorbic acid, catechins, leukoanthocyanins, anthocyanins, and total phenolics, with medium and significant variability of the studied indicators (V > 10%). Among the genotypes, 73% accumulated more than 20.0 mg/100 g of ascorbic acid in fruits. All genotypes were identified as sources of anthocyanins. About 50% of the accessions accumulated catechins in fruits above the average level. Leucoanthocyanins were stored in blackberry fruits in slightly larger amounts than catechins. In 10 accessions the level of phenolics was higher than 1000.0 mg/100 g.Conclusion. Genotypes with high BAC content were identified. Correlation coefficients were obtained: they indicate the presence of an medium degree of rectilinear relationship between the content of ascorbic acid and anthocyanin compounds, ascorbic acid and total phenolics. Cvs. ‘Black Satin’, ‘Cacanska Bestrna’, ‘Chester’, ‘Natchez’ and ‘Triple Crown’, plus hybrid seedlings LN-14, LN-1 and LN-7, were identified according to a set of indicators (ascorbic acid and phenolics) and recommended for breeding to improve the quality of blackberry fruits.

Postharvest quality comparison of six blackberry cultivars under two storage conditions

The fruit of six blackberry cultivars “Ningzhi 3,” “Arapaho,” “Kiowa,” “Hull,” “Shuofeng,” and “Triple Crown” were stored under different storage conditions 25°C (RT) and 4°C (LT). Compared to RT treatment, LT treatment-restricted deterioration and nutritional loss, and maintained antioxidant capacity of samples. Among LT samples, color of “Ningzhi 3,” “Hull,” and “Shuofeng” changed fewer than other cultivars, and the decay rate of “Shuofeng” and weight loss of “Hull” were lower than others. At the end of LT, total soluble solid and soluble sugar content of “Arapaho,” soluble protein content of “Shuofeng” were the highest. During the storage period, “Arapaho,” “Hull”, and “Shuofeng” maintained higher antioxidant enzyme activity and lower hydrogen peroxide content. The storage stability of “Arapaho,” “Hull,” and “Shuofeng” was better than the other three blackberry cultivars because of their better postharvest quality. This study provides a comprehensive insight into the postharvest treatment to maintain the quality of blackberry.

THE QUANTIFICATION OF SOME BIOACTIVE COMPOUNDS IN THE FRUITS OF FOUR BLACKBERRY (Rubus fruticosus L.) CULTIVARS, PROPAGATED BY TISSUE CULTURE

The goal of the research was the quantitative determination of biochemical compounds (ascorbic acid, reducing sugars, tannins and titratable acidity) in Rubus fruticosus L. fruits – blackberries ('Melana', 'Triple Crown', 'Arapaho' and 'Thornfree'), propagated by tissue culture and cultivated under the ecological conditions of the Republic of Moldova. The spectrophotometric determination of ascorbic acid revealed that the highest content of this phytocompound was quantified in the 'Arapaho' blackberries, 48.28 mg/100 g, followed by the 'Thornfree' cultivar (41.69 mg/100 g), which is an amount about twice as high as in the 'Melana' blackberries (23.8 mg/100 g). The high amount of vitamin C in the researched blackberries makes them comparable to raspberries and gooseberries. The content of reducing sugars varied between 4.72% and 7.26%. The 'Triple Crown' cultivar was characterized by the maximum amounts of these biochemical compounds, and the lowest amounts were found in the fruits of the 'Thornfree' blackberry cultivar. The evaluation of the titratable acidity showed that the highest index of this parameter was recorded in the 'Melana' blackberries (0.74% / 0.77% as compared with malic / citric acid. The quantification of the tannins revealed that the fruits of the 'Triple Crown' cultivar have the lowest tannin content (1.97%), the amount being more than twice lower than the maximum amount (4.16%), recorded in the blackberries of the 'Thornfree' cultivar. The results of the study led to the conclusion that the fruits of Rubus fruticosus L., obtained from plants which had been micropropagated in the Embryology and Biotechnology Laboratory (NBGI) and grown under the conditions of the Republic of Moldova are a good source of biologically active substances and can be proposed for commercial production as a promising organic food product.

The effect of international accreditations on students’ revealed preferences: Evidence from French Business schools

This paper evaluates how three different international accreditations for business schools (AACSB, EQUIS and AMBA) affect student preferences, expressed via enrollment decisions. Focusing on the French context, we build a relative preference indicator to compare schools using data collected by the central clearinghouse that allocates students to schools. We observe that all three accreditations positively and significantly influence students, but that the impact of the AACSB accreditation is larger than the other two accreditations. Having an AACSB accreditation is equivalent to moving up four places in rankings by L’étudiant magazine, whereas the impact of having EQUIS or AMBA is similar to moving up two places. We also find a sizeable “triple crown” effect, meaning that the three accreditations tend to complement each other. Our results are robust to different ways of assessing potential self-selection into accreditation.

Red drupelet reversion in blackberries caused by mechanical damage is not linked to a reduction in anthocyanin content

Red Drupelet Reversion (RDR) in blackberry is a physiological disorder where numerous fruit drupelets regress to red from black color during post-harvest handling. The specific mechanism causing RDR is still unknown; however, numerous studies have suggested that anthocyanin contents could be involved in this phenomenon. Recently, it has been reported that RDR in cultivars ‘Ouachita’, ‘Triple Crown’ and ‘Apache’ could be associated with a reduction (56–63 %) in anthocyanin contents after 24 h of storage. Interestingly, other studies have observed that RDR could be linked to fruit mechanical damage during transportation; specifically, due to fruit vibration (10 Hz and acceleration of 0.5 g). Based on this notion, the main goal of the present study was to establish a fruit vibration model to evaluate the relationship between mechanical damage, anthocyanin content and RDR appearance. Blackberry clamshells cv. ‘APF-122′ (170 g) were subjected to vibration (10 Hz and acceleration of 0.5 g) during 1, 3, and 5 min to induce RDR. Color and anthocyanin content were evaluated at 0, 24, 48, 72, 96 and 120 h of storage at 1 °C. RDR was observed immediately after fruit was subjected to 5 min vibration; however, no changes were observed in anthocyanin concentration. Multiphoton microscopy revealed that reverted fruit possessed anthocyanins dispersed within the cells; in contrast, no reverted fruit held anthocyanins in spherical agglomerates. Also, it was observed that anthocyanin fluorescence emission was reduced in reverted drupelet, suggesting changes in intermolecular interactions between anthocyanins. Interestingly, a reduction in anthocyanin concentration in reverted fruit was observed only after 72 h of storage; indicating that anthocyanin content may not be involved in the RDR process. Taken together, these results suggest that blackberry color reversion could be associated with changes in anthocyanin intermolecular interactions. Further studies are in progress to corroborate this hypothesis.

PSII Activity Was Inhibited at Flowering Stage with Developing Black Bracts of Oat.

The color of bracts generally turns yellow or black from green during cereal grain development. However, the impact of these phenotypic changes on photosynthetic physiology during black bract formation remains unclear. Two oat cultivars (Avena sativa L.), ‘Triple Crown’ and ‘Qinghai 444’, with yellow and black bracts, respectively, were found to both have green bracts at the heading stage, but started to turn black at the flowering stage and become blackened at the milk stage for ‘Qinghai 444’. Their photosynthetic characteristics were analyzed and compared, and the key genes, proteins and regulatory pathways affecting photosynthetic physiology were determined in ‘Triple Crown’ and ‘Qinghai 444’ bracts. The results show that the actual PSII photochemical efficiency and PSII electron transfer rate of ‘Qinghai 444’ bracts had no significant changes at the heading and milk stages but decreased significantly (p < 0.05) at the flowering stage compared with ‘Triple Crown’. The chlorophyll content decreased, the LHCII involved in the assembly of supercomplexes in the thylakoid membrane was inhibited, and the expression of Lhcb1 and Lhcb5 was downregulated at the flowering stage. During this critical stage, the expression of Bh4 and C4H was upregulated, and the biosynthetic pathway of p-coumaric acid using tyrosine and phenylalanine as precursors was also enhanced. Moreover, the key upregulated genes (CHS, CHI and F3H) of anthocyanin biosynthesis might complement the impaired PSII activity until recovered at the milk stage. These findings provide a new insight into how photosynthesis alters during the process of oat bract color transition to black.

Spanish Bussiness Schools paradox and the accreditation system expiry: when the success becomes a risk

This paper is an analytical-empirical review of the evolution of Spanish Business Schools and how they have been affected by the accreditation system. This system has made it possible for the Spanish Business Schools to rank among the best (10 of them are in the World top-25 and 4 have been accredited with the triple crown, which is the highest distinction). However, it has also led to the denaturalization of the Business Schools (B-Schools), which have been “devoured” by the Schools of Economics and Business at universities. In addition, the accreditation system has entailed an increase in costs (opportunity, marginal, sunk costs and so on). An explanation of the Spanish B-Schools paradox is offered in the article: the more accreditations achieved,the more difficult it is to maintain them, due to contradictions in the compliance regulation and to the difficulty in updating academic programmes since their success and assimilation into the welfare state economy is a risk for B-Schools and their adaptation to digital economy. Finally, the paper gives some keys to correct the problem detected and thus to adapt B-Schools to the emerging wellbeing economics, a new stage of the digital economy.

The quality of berries of promising blackberry varieties in the conditions of the Tambov region

Blackberry is a new berry crop of industrial horticulture in the central part of Russia. More than 20 blackberry varieties were collected at the experimental sites of the SPC “Agropishcheprom". The paper presents the results of the study of 11 modern blackberry varieties. During preparation for winter, the plants were covered with covering material, and therefore, no winter damage was found during the years of research. A fluctuation in the accumulation of positive temperatures during the period of fruit formation and maturation, affecting the biochemical parameters and taste of fruits, was revealed. There is also a difference in the amount of precipitation over the years, which affects the average fruit weight. Thus, in 2020, during the formation and maturation of the fruits, 40% less precipitation fell in comparison with 2019, which led to a decrease in the average fruit weight. As a result of the research, the varieties were grouped according to maturation period, fruit average weight and taste. Selected varieties for use in breeding for large-fruited are the following: Natchez, Karaka Black, Black Butte and Triple Crown. Loch Maree, Natchez, Polar, Triple Crown, Black Butte and Karaka Black varieties were characterized by high taste qualities.

First report of powdery mildew of blackberry caused by Podosphaera aphanis in Serbia.

Blackberries (Rubus L. subgenus Rubus Watson) are popular, wild fruits with high content of antioxidants and thus with beneficial effect on the human health (Reyes-Carmona et al. 2005). In July 2019 and May 2020, plants with typical powdery mildew symptoms were collected in the blackberry cv. 'Triple crown' orchard (of 2 ha in size) in the vicinity of Pakovraće (Moravica District, Serbia). The symptoms observed in 2019 included mild chlorotic spots on both old and young leaves accompanied by the white powdery mildew colonies on the surface of the leaves, visible on both primorcanes and floricanes. In 2020, even more intensive symptoms occurred on fruit bearing shoots which were covered with dense white fungal growth. Heavily infected leaves turned necrotic along the edges, followed by defoliation. Disease incidence was calculated by randomly counting and rating 100 plants in four replications and estimated to be over 90% while disease severity was estimated to be over 40%. Morphological characteristics were assessed using bright-field and phase-contrast microscopy (Jankovics et al. 2011) and revealed the presence of unbranched, erect conidiophores (N=50, 75 to 200 μm) with cylindrical foot-cell and up to five short cells. Conidia were unicellular, hyaline and ellipsoid-barrel-shaped (N=50, 22.5 to 35.5 × 12.5 to 15 μm) containing fibrosin bodies (in 3% KOH). All observed characteristics resembled to Podosphaera spp. (Braun and Takamatsu 2000). The presence of chasmothecia was not recorded. Further molecular identification was conducted using internal transcribed spacer (ITS) sequence analysis of two isolates, 420G-19 and 30G-20, sampled in 2019 and 2020, respectively. Total DNA was extracted directly from epiphytic mycelium on the leaves using DNeasy Plant Mini Kit (Qiagen, Hilden, Germany) following the manufacturer's instructions. PCR amplification and sequencing were performed with primers ITS1F and ITS4 (Takamatsu et al. 2010). The nucleotide sequence of the representative isolates 420G-19 (530 bp) and 30G-20 (530 bp) (Accession No. MN914995 and MT514661) shared 100% identity, while both shared 99.49 to 99.81% nt identity with 32 Podosphaera aphanis strawberry and raspberry isolates in the GenBank (the highest 99.81% with GU942455, Harvey and Xu 2010), confirming that powdery mildew of blackberry in Serbia is caused by P. aphanis. In order to fulfill Koch's postulates, 10 rooted, healthy blackberry plants cv. 'Triple crown' were dusted with conidia of isolate 30G-20 and incubated at 23°C under the high relative humidity in the glasshouse. Healthy blackberry plants incubated in the same conditions, served as negative control. The minute white fungal colonies sharing the same microscopic features with the original isolate were visible 7-8 days post inoculation on all inoculated plants. No fungal growth was observed in the negative control. Serbia is the fourth largest blackberry producer in the world (Strik et al. 2007) and the occurrence of P. aphanis causing powdery mildew as a new pathogen is of utmost importance. P. aphanis is described as strawberry and raspberry powdery mildew pathogen with a population expressing substantial genetic diversity (Harvey and Xu 2010). The molecular data on blackberry originating isolates of P. aphanis are missing. Our study showed that P. aphanis could be destructive for blackberry in Serbia, thus representing a threat for the production of this valuable crop.

Assessment of blackberry varieties suitable for growing in the Right-Bank Forest-Steppe part of Ukraine

The research aimed to study the productivity of blackberry foreign varieties (Rubus subgenus Rubus Watson) in the Right-Bank Forest-Steppe part of Ukraine as they are attractive for production due to their fruit taste and appearance. The task was to establish the beginning and duration of fruiting of blackberry varieties, to determine the yield level and the quality of the berries. A fi eld experiment was conducted on the experimental fi eld of the Scientific and Research Center of BNAU to assess the productivity of blackberry varieties. The studies were started in the spring of 2017 on blackberry seedlings with growing the culture in vitro in the biotechnological laboratory of the university. The tests included 5 varieties with climbing shoots: Smoothstem, Thornfree, Black Satin, Triple Crown, Arapaho. According to the results of observations, it was found that for two years of fruiting among the studied varieties, the earliest production was received in the Arapaho variety, in the first decade of July. Triple Crown, with the fi rst fruits ripened on August 2, was characterized by late fruiting. The Triple Crown variety diff ered by the longest period of berry coming – 35 days. The yield obtained in a year after planting is not an indicator of long-term crop yields. However, the Triple Crown variety diff ered by the highest yield in the fi rst year of fruiting, with an average of 3.7 kg of berries obtained from a bush. High yields were also observed in the Smoothstem variety. Black Satin variety was characterized by the high level of yield growth for over two years of fruiting, which amounted to 80 %. The largest in the fi rst years of fruiting were Triple Crown fruits with an average weight of 11.1 g. The maximum weight of individual berries of this variety reached 17.7 g. The Arapaho variety also stood out with its large fruits of 8.5 g on average. Some fruits reached a maximum weight of 12.1 g. Key words: blackberry, the beginning of fruiting, productivity, average weight of berries, duration of products supply.