Eclipse
Date: 2000-09-02, updated: 2023-03-29
Thornless, semi-erect, high quality blackberry that has firm, uniformly shaped, dark fruit suited for the fresh market
Rubus subgenus Rubus Watson 'Eclipse'
Originated from a cross of Triple Crown x ORUS 1393-1
Variety denomination 'Eclipse', tested as ORUS 2816-4
Plants are thornless
Bushes have semi-erect canes
Fruit weight is 6 g
Berries have a conical shape
Soluble solids - 13.8%
Acidity - 0.99%
Fruiting habit floricane fruiting (summer-bearing)
Flowering on floricanes starts in the fourth week of May
Ripening date (regular) - fourth week of July
Productivity is 8 kg per plant
Cold hardiness is excellent
Country of origin United States
Patent US PP30,448 P3 dated April 27, 2019
Current status - modern or widely used
Eclipse has high-quality fruit in the early semi-erect season and vigorous productive plants. Fruit is uniformly shaped and firm. The primocanes of Eclipse are slightly less vigorous than those of Chester Thornless and Triple Crown. Eclipse has moderate yields with yields comparable to the other commercial cultivars.
Cultivar has an excellent size for clamshell packaging.
Fruits are medium-large, average fruit weight is about 6 g with blocky-conical shape. Fruit shape can be affected by drupelet fertility, and although Eclipse had the highest rating for fertility, it was not statistically different from the Triple Crown and Chester Thornless. Berries have excellent black color that is comparable to Chester Thornless, and although statistically darker than Triple Crown, the color was not meaningfully different from Triple Crown.
Eclipse was rated as having comparable firmness and skin toughness to Chester Thornless and rated much better than the softer, more tenderskinned Triple Crown. This combination of firmness, uniformity of shape, medium size, and excellent skin toughness make Eclipse an excellent candidate for shipping in clamshells in the wholesale fruit market. When eaten fresh, blackberry Eclipse fruit flavor was as good as the highly regarded Triple Crown and better than Chester Thornless.
Blackberry Eclipse ripens with or before Navaho and Triple Crown, the midpoint is comparable to Navaho and 10-14 dayes before Chester Thornless and Triple Crown. In trials Eclipse cultivar ripens at the middle of July. Harvest season's length is about 30 days. Averaged crop from each plant is about 8 kg.
Cold hardiness is very good, has shown no injury in 10 seasons despite temperatures below minus 20 C. Also Eclipse shows very good disease resistance.
Cultivar | Berry weight, g | Yield, kg/plant | ||
---|---|---|---|---|
2015 | 2016 | 2017 | ||
Eclipse | 6.4 | 6.65 | 7.20 | 12.71 |
Chester Thornless | 6.3 | 8.40 | 10.89 | 15.60 |
Triple Crown | 8.1 | 11.44 | 9.14 | 14.39 |
Cultivar | Eclipse | Chester Thornless | Triple Crown |
---|---|---|---|
Drupelet fertility | 6.9 | 6.0 | 6.5 |
Firmness | 8.6 | 8.4 | 6.1 |
Color | 9.0 | 9.0 | 8.8 |
Shape | 6.9 | 6.0 | 6.1 |
Texture | 5.9 | 5.1 | 5.5 |
Flavor | 7.3 | 5.2 | 7.2 |
Toughness | 8.4 | 8.3 | 5.5 |
Glossiness | 8.8 | 7.8 | 7.9 |
Cultivar | Soluble solids, % | Titratable acidity, % | pH |
---|---|---|---|
Eclipse | 13.5 | 0.97 | 3.41 |
Black Diamond | 11.29 | 1.27 | 3.36 |
Čačanska bestrna | 9.72 | 1.15 | 3.29 |
Chester Thornless | 12.43 | 1.07 | 3.28 |
Columbia Giant | 11.40 | 1.87 | 3.17 |
Columbia Star | 12.32 | 1.40 | 3.23 |
Columbia Sunrise | 13.61 | 0.75 | 3.64 |
Galaxy | 12.26 | 1.08 | 3.45 |
Hall's Beauty | 13.46 | 1.31 | 3.35 |
Marion | 13.45 | 1.60 | 3.20 |
Navaho | 14.41 | 1.03 | 3.36 |
Osage | 12.01 | 0.89 | 3.70 |
Triple Crown | 14.95 | 0.93 | 3.53 |
Tupy | 12.86 | 0.86 | 3.66 |
Von | 12.35 | 0.70 | 3.56 |
Cultivar | Ripening | ||
---|---|---|---|
First (5%) | Peak (50%) | Last (95%) | |
Eclipse | July 12 | July 17 | August 7 |
Columbia Star | June 20 | June 26 | July 7 |
Hall's Beauty | June 22 | June 26 | July 10 |
Black Diamond | June 20 | June 30 | July 17 |
Marion | June 24 | June 30 | July 15 |
Von | July 10 | July 17 | August 4 |
Triple Crown | July 17 | July 31 | August 9 |
Chester Thornless | July 17 | August 2 | August 21 |
Prime-Ark 45 (prim.) | August 25 | Sept. 13 | Sept. 29 |
How to cultivate blackberry Eclipse?
1. Annual pre- and post-emergent herbicide applications;
2. Spring nitrogen fertilization (78 kg N/ha);
3. Post-harvest removal of floricanes;
4. Training of primocanes to a two-wire trellis;
5. Weekly overhead application of 2.5 to 5.0 cm of irrigation during the growing season depending on rainfall;
6. Dormant applications of liquid lime sulfur and copper hydroxide were made to control leaf and cane spot, purple blotch, orange rust and anthracnose;
7. Timely applications of pesticides during the season;
8. One-time application of ferrous sulphate in late fall.