Prime-Ark Traveler

Prime-Ark Traveler (patented as APF-190T) is the commercially released thornless two-season-fruiting blackberry with shipping-quality fruit. This development was intended primarily as a commercial cultivar to be grown for fruit production for either shipping or local sales. It likely will have value as a home-garden plant also. This was the fifth in the University of Arkansas Prime-Ark Brand Primocane-Fruiting Blackberry cultivar line following the release of Prime-Jan and Prime-Jim in 2004, Prime-Ark 45 in 2009 and Prime-Ark Freedom in 2013.
This blackberry fruits on current-season canes (primocanes) and on second-season canes (floricanes), potentially providing for two cropping seasons. In addition to having thornless canes, Prime-Ark Traveler produces high-quality berries of medium-large size with good flavor, and potential for shipping and postharvest storage.
Prime-Ark Freedom, a previous primocane-fruiting cultivar from Arkansas, combined thornlessness and primocane fruiting, but did not have shipping-quality fruit characteristics. Floricane yields of Prime-Ark Traveler are statistically similar to Prime-Ark 45, but the floricane yields of Prime-Ark Traveler are generally less.
Floricane mean first harvest date for Prime-Ark Traveler is the beginning of June, similar to Prime-Ark 45. Primocane first ripe fruit date ranged from the end of July to the beginning of August, that is earlier than Prime-Ark 45. Canes of Prime-Ark Traveler are erect, however, the plants should be grown with supporting trellis wires placed on either side of the plant row at ~ 1.3 m height to help support the canes, as the primocane crop can be produced on the more distal portion of the canes.
Fruits of Prime-Ark Traveler is elongated in shape and attractive with a glossy, black finish. Berry shape is usually uniform with fewer double and (or) misshapen fruits than that seen on Prime-Ark 45 and Prime-Ark Freedom, an occurrence thought to be related to summer heat on primocane bud and flower differentiation.
Average floricane berry weight of Prime-Ark Traveler ranges from 7 to 9 g, similar to Prime-Ark 45, Ouachita and Osage.
It will be very important in management of Prime-Ark Traveler that canes be double tipped to maximize yield and maintain primocane height (double-tip the primocanes first at 50 cm and then subsequent branches tipped at ~ 50 cm).

Table 1. Comparison table of floricane and primocane yield of two primocane-fruiting and two floricane-fruiting blackberry, planted in 2011

Cultivar	Yield, kg/ha
	2012	2013	2014
Floricane harvests
Prime-Ark Traveler	11015	22420	9826
Natchez	29195	36443	20060
Ouachita	18370	30775	14981
Prime-Ark 45	20366	31803	11924
Primocane harvests
Prime-Ark Traveler	-	4306	7479
Prime-Ark 45	-	6525	6493

Table 2. Averaged berry weight of two primocane-fruiting and two floricane-fruiting blackberry, planted in 2011

Cultivar	Fruit weight, g
	2012	2013	2014
Floricane harvests
Prime-Ark Traveler	7.0	6.7	7.5
Natchez	7.5	8.3	9.7
Ouachita	6.5	6.2	7.9
Prime-Ark 45	6.6	7.1	7.6
Primocane harvests
Prime-Ark Traveler	-	5.2	7.2
Prime-Ark 45	-	6.3	5.7

Table 3. Comparison table of floricane and primocane yield of two primocane-fruiting and two floricane-fruiting blackberry, planted in 2012

Cultivar	Yield, kg/ha
	2013	2014	2015
Floricane harvests
Prime-Ark Traveler	13057	13283	8961
Natchez	38342	21725	-
Ouachita	23052	12456	17332
Prime-Ark 45	20845	10234	8283
Primocane harvests
Prime-Ark Traveler	4963	7568	10287
Prime-Ark 45	7798	4978	10540

Table 4. Averaged berry weight of two primocane-fruiting and two floricane-fruiting blackberry, planted in 2012

Cultivar	Fruit weight, g
	2013	2014	2015
Floricane harvests
Prime-Ark Traveler	6.7	7.3	8.7
Natchez	8.3	10.9	-
Ouachita	6.2	7.4	7.5
Prime-Ark 45	7.1	7.9	6.6
Primocane harvests
Prime-Ark Traveler	4.7	6.4	5.3
Prime-Ark 45	6.6	7.3	5.1

Table 5. Comparison table of soluble-solid content, titratable acidity and pH parameters of blackberry cultivars

Cultivar	Parameter
	Soluble solids, %	Acidity, %	pH
2013
Prime-Ark Traveler	9.4	0.8	3.2
Natchez	9.5	1.1	2.8
Ouachita	11.8	1.0	3.1
Osage	10.0	1.0	3.2
Prime-Ark 45	11.2	0.9	3.2
2014
Prime-Ark Traveler	11.1	0.8	3.3
Natchez	10.9	1.1	3.1
Ouachita	11.2	1.1	3.1
Prime-Ark 45	11.4	0.8	3.3

1. Avoid wet area when planted new bushes;
2. Annual pre-emergence and postemergence herbicide applications;
3. Annual spring nitrogen fertilization (56 kg/ha) using ammonium nitrate;
4. Additional fertilization (23 kg/ha) after the floricane crop production is completed in July;
5. Tipping primocanes at 42 inch height two times each season usually in mid-June and late July or early August;
6. Dormant pruning of primocane-fruiting plants must include removing dead floricanes and removing primocane tissue to a point below the fruiting (flowering) area on the primocanes;
7. Dormant pruning of floricane-fruiting plants must include removing dead floricanes and pruning lateral branches to ~ 0.4 m in length;
8. Use drip irrigation;
9. A single application of iron sulfate in late fall (October) and lime sulfur (94 L/ha) at budbreak in early spring;
10. Plant spacing at least 0.6 m.