Columbia Giant
Date: 2021-01-28, updated: 2023-03-27
New thornless trailing blackberry cultivar with very large fruit
Rubus subgenus Rubus Watson 'Columbia Giant'
Originated from a cross of NZ 9629-1 x ORUS 1350-2
Variety denomination 'Columbia Giant', tested as ORUS 3447-2
Plants are thornless
Bushes have trailing canes
Fruit weight is 12 g
Berries have a oblong shape
Soluble solids - 11.25%
Acidity - 1.85%
Fruiting habit floricane fruiting (summer-bearing)
Flowering on floricanes starts in the third week of May
Ripening date (regular) - third week of July
Productivity is 5 kg per plant
Cold hardiness is good
Country of origin United States
Patent US PP28,369 P3 dated September 10, 2017
Current status - modern or widely used
Columbia Giant is a thornless trailing blackberry cultivar with very large fruit from the U.S. Department of Agriculture-Agricultural Research Service (USDA-ARS) breeding program in Corvallis. Columbia Giant is introduced as a high quality, high yielding, thornless trailing blackberry with good flavor and firm fruit that are suited for local fresh market sales but can be machine harvested for the processing market with very good frozen quality. Columbia Giant should be adapted to areas where other trailing blackberries can be grown successfully.
Average fruit weight is about 12 g. Average yield is about 4-6 kg from each plant. The large fruit size makes it particularly attractive for roadside marketing and homeowners but may be problematic for the wholesale fresh market as a very large berry can cause problems with making the stated unit weight when packing fresh fruit in clamshells.
Fresh fruit of Columbia Giant are rated as having better firmness than either of the current industry standards. Columbia Giant has comparable performance for aroma, flavor, color, and overall quality with its sibling Columbia Star and Marion, which are considered industry standards for quality. Columbia Giant is rated better than Black Diamond for flavor, but worse for titratable acidity. Columbia Giant ripened in the early midseason for trailing blackberries, similar to Black Diamond, a couple of days before Marion, and weeks ahead of Navaho erect and Chester Thornless semierect blackberries. The harvest interval (5% to 95% ripe) for Columbia Giant has about a 23–25 days harvest interval and is similar to Black Diamond and Marion (from the end of June to the middle of July). The canes of Columbia Giant are as vigorous as those of Marion and Black Diamond.
Columbia Giant nuclear stock has tested negative for Apple mosaic virus, Arabis mosaic virus, Cherry leaf roll virus, Cherry rasp leaf virus, Prunus necrotic ringspot virus, Raspberry bushy dwarf virus, Raspberry ringspot virus, Strawberry necrotic shock virus, Tobacco ringspot virus, Tobacco streak virus, Tomato black ring virus, Tomato ringspot virus, and Xylella by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay and has tested negative for Blackberry chlorotic ringspot virus, Blackberry virus Y, Blackberry yellow vein associated virus, Black raspberry necrosis virus, Raspberry latent virus, Raspberry leaf mottle virus, Rubus yellow net virus, and Strawberry latent ringspot virus. The winter hardiness is good, about minus 17 C.
Average fruit weight is about 12 g. Average yield is about 4-6 kg from each plant. The large fruit size makes it particularly attractive for roadside marketing and homeowners but may be problematic for the wholesale fresh market as a very large berry can cause problems with making the stated unit weight when packing fresh fruit in clamshells.
Fresh fruit of Columbia Giant are rated as having better firmness than either of the current industry standards. Columbia Giant has comparable performance for aroma, flavor, color, and overall quality with its sibling Columbia Star and Marion, which are considered industry standards for quality. Columbia Giant is rated better than Black Diamond for flavor, but worse for titratable acidity. Columbia Giant ripened in the early midseason for trailing blackberries, similar to Black Diamond, a couple of days before Marion, and weeks ahead of Navaho erect and Chester Thornless semierect blackberries. The harvest interval (5% to 95% ripe) for Columbia Giant has about a 23–25 days harvest interval and is similar to Black Diamond and Marion (from the end of June to the middle of July). The canes of Columbia Giant are as vigorous as those of Marion and Black Diamond.
Columbia Giant nuclear stock has tested negative for Apple mosaic virus, Arabis mosaic virus, Cherry leaf roll virus, Cherry rasp leaf virus, Prunus necrotic ringspot virus, Raspberry bushy dwarf virus, Raspberry ringspot virus, Strawberry necrotic shock virus, Tobacco ringspot virus, Tobacco streak virus, Tomato black ring virus, Tomato ringspot virus, and Xylella by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay and has tested negative for Blackberry chlorotic ringspot virus, Blackberry virus Y, Blackberry yellow vein associated virus, Black raspberry necrosis virus, Raspberry latent virus, Raspberry leaf mottle virus, Rubus yellow net virus, and Strawberry latent ringspot virus. The winter hardiness is good, about minus 17 C.
Cultivar | Berry weight, g | Yield, kg/plant | ||
---|---|---|---|---|
2013 | 2014 | 2015 | ||
Columbia Giant | 12 | 9.23 | 4.49 | 4.07 |
Black Diamond | 5.7 | 6.51 | 2.90 | 4.63 |
Marion | 5.2 | 5.3 | 3.01 | 3.15 |
Cultivar | Columbia Giant | Black Diamond | Marion |
---|---|---|---|
Firmness | 8.0 | 7.1 | 4.5 |
Color | 8.0 | 8.1 | 7.7 |
Shape | 8.6 | 8.5 | 5.6 |
Texture | 8.2 | 7.0 | 7.7 |
Flavor | 7.3 | 5.9 | 8.1 |
Cultivar | Soluble solids, % | Titratable acidity, % | pH |
---|---|---|---|
Columbia Giant | 11.72 | 1.88 | 3.18 |
Columbia Star | 13.18 | 1.50 | 3.20 |
Black Diamond | 11.79 | 1.23 | 3.37 |
Chester Thornless | 12.54 | 1.10 | 3.28 |
Marion | 13.70 | 1.59 | 3.14 |
Cultivar | Ripening | ||
---|---|---|---|
First (5%) | Peak (50%) | Last (95%) | |
Columbia Giant | June 22 | July 3 | July 17 |
Navaho | June 26 | July 5 | July 15 |
Black Diamond | June 24 | July 3 | July 17 |
Chester Thornless | July 31 | August 12 | August 30 |
Marion | June 26 | July 5 | July 15 |
How to cultivate blackberry Columbia Giant?
1. Include annual preemergence and postemergence herbicide applications;
2. Include annual spring nitrogen (N) fertilization (about 78 kg/ha) using ammonium nitrate (NH4NO3);
3. Postharvest removal of floricanes;
4. Sprinkler irrigation apply weekly during the growing season;
5. Training of primocanes to a two-wire-trellis;
6. A single application of liquid lime sulfur (94 L/ha) each spring at budbreak for control of anthracnose;
7. Use sun shelters.
2. Include annual spring nitrogen (N) fertilization (about 78 kg/ha) using ammonium nitrate (NH4NO3);
3. Postharvest removal of floricanes;
4. Sprinkler irrigation apply weekly during the growing season;
5. Training of primocanes to a two-wire-trellis;
6. A single application of liquid lime sulfur (94 L/ha) each spring at budbreak for control of anthracnose;
7. Use sun shelters.
Useful Growing Guides:
Reviews of the variety Columbia Giant
Review from [BIG JALM]
Carl describes the Columbia giant blackberry
Review from [EKLAND MARKETING CO. - EMCO CAL]