Fruit Business Ripens at the UA

Growing the perfect plant is the goal of John Clark.
Clark, professor of horticulture and director of the fruit-breeding program at the University of Arkansas, is mostly concerned with blackberries.
“The blackberry program at the University of Arkansas is one of the largest in the world,” Clark said. “If you’re in the blackberry business, or know anything about commercial blackberries, in the world, you’ll know something about Arkansas.”
Clark has been developing increasingly better varieties of blackberries, but measuring success is difficult.
The Dale Bumpers College of Agricultural, Food and Life Sciences said it could not provide amounts of royalties reaped from patented varieties of blackberries. However, royalties on blackberries usually range from 10 cents to 30 cents per plant.
Clark said even putting a market value on blackberries is difficult because many are grown in small quantities and also are sold in farmer’s markets where there is no statistical tracking.
According to Worldwide Production of Blackberries published at the University of Oregon, Arkansas produced 1,543 tons of blackberries on 600 acres in 2005, an increase of 60 percent in acreage from 1995. Blackberries were projected to increase to 1,000 acres by 2015.
Blackberries are gaining favor with consumers because of health benefits, Clark said, but unlike blueberries, there is no national council that pushes marketing. Instead, growers and distributors are left to market blackberries.
Varieties developed at the UA make up much of the state’s production. While Ouachita and Apache have become popular, Clark said the most successful variety has been Navajo. The Navajo blackberries are successful because they are thornless, have improved sweetness and exhibit the best post-harvest handling of any blackberry, he said.
Shipping has been one obstacle in getting blackberries into consumers’ hands. Some lose their color during shipping, some begin to leak juice and their softness makes them susceptible to being smashed.
Another development for Clark has been primocanes. Unlike previous varieties, primocane blackberries bear two crops, one at the traditional period of June and July and a second crop in the fall.
The drawback to the primocanes is they require a more moderate climate. Summer temperatures of 85-90 degrees Fahrenheit can damage the plant.
Primocane plants in Oregon can produce blackberries of about 10 grams, compared to 2 grams when grown in Arkansas’ climate. Clark hopes to soon develop a primocane plant that will do well when grown in Arkansas.
Tying all these characteristics together — sweetness, post-havest handling, thornless varieties, primocanes and heat resistance — is one of the next steps at UA.
“I can see where this can really bolster blackberry consumption, therefore production, therefore, profitability for farmers, and then the health benefits — it’s a full circle,” Clark said. “Everybody wins.”