Fast Facts:

·
Prime-Ark Traveler is the second
thornless primocane-fruiting blackberry

·
Good storage and handling
characteristics make Prime-Ark Traveler suitable for commercial markets

·
Primocane-fruiting blackberries offer
two harvests per year

Arkansas
releases thornless primocane-fruiting blackberry

suitable for
storage, shipping to commercial markets

FAYETTEVILLE,
Ark. — The second
thornless primocane-fruiting blackberry released by the University of Arkansas
System Division of Agriculture is the first of its kind to yield
shipping-quality fruit suitable for commercial markets, said John R. Clark,
director of the fruit breeding program.

Called
Prime-Ark®
Traveler, the
new blackberry produces medium-large berries, good yields and has excellent
plant health, Clark said. He added that it complements Prime-Ark® 45, a thorny
primocane-fruiting blackberry released in 2009, as a quality product with good
storage and shipping characteristics for commercial use.

Prime-Ark®
Traveler’s yields sometimes do not match those of Prime-Ark®
45, Clark said, but its berry size is more uniform at 7 to 8 grams and is
easier to pack in clamshell containers.

Traveler’s
flavor and sweetness are very good, Clark said, and it has lower acidity than many
other blackberries.

Clark
said Prime-Ark® Traveler’s floricane yields — those
berries that form on second-year canes — are very good. Yields on primocanes,
or first-year canes, are sensitive to high heat that often occurs in late
summer and fall in Arkansas.

“We’ve made some progress since the first
primocane-fruiting blackberries were released in 2004,” Clark said. “But yields
for those late-season berries continue to be a challenge.”

Clark
said heat stress reduces flowering and fruit size and quality when daytime
temperatures are 90 degrees and higher for five or more days.

Primocane-fruiting
blackberries do better in areas with lower summer temperatures, Clark said. For
commercial markets in Arkansas, he recommends Ouachita, Natchez and Osage
blackberries, all more traditional floricane-fruiting varieties.

Clark
said Prime-Ark® Traveler is just entering the
marketplace and may not be available until late spring, and then only in
limited quantities. More plants should be available later in 2015 and 2016.

Information
about Prime-Ark® Traveler and other University of
Arkansas System Division of Agriculture blackberry varieties, as well as
blueberries, grapes, peaches and nectarines, is available online: http://www.uaex.edu/farm-ranch/crops-commercial-horticulture/horticulture/fruits.aspx