Natchez blackberry variety
Erect-growing, high quality, productive, very early-ripening, floricane-fruiting blackberry
Rubus subgenus Rubus Watson 'Natchez'
Originated from a cross of Ark. 1857 x Ark. 2005
Variety denomination - 'Natchez', tested as Ark. 2241
Natchez is the parent for Amanda
Plants are thornless
Bushes have semi-erect canes
Fruit weight is 8 g
Berries have a oblong shape
Fruiting habit - floricane fruiting (summer-bearing)
Flowering on floricanes starts in the third week of April
Ripening date (regular) - third week of June
Productivity is 6 kg per plant
Soluble solids - 9.5%
Acidity - 0.94%
Cold hardiness is moderate
Heat tolerance is low
Patent US PP20,891 P3 dated March 28, 2010
Current status - modern or widely used
Country of origin - United States
Agawam Amanda Anastasia Wyeberry Apache Arapaho Babycakes Bailey Big Daddy Black Butte Black Diamond Black Gem Black Jack Black Magic Black Pearl Black Satin Blakely Boysenberry Brazos Caddo Chesapeake Chester Thornless Cheyenne Chickasaw Chief Joseph Choctaw Clark Gold Columbia Giant Columbia Star Columbia Sunrise COX's miracle berry Danna Douglass Doyle's Thornless Eclipse Evergreen Thornless Galaxy Hall’s Beauty Heaven Can Wait Hedrick HJ-6 HJ-7 Hull Thornless Illiny Hardy Kelly Kiowa Kotata Loganberry Lucretia Marion Mary Carmen Metolius MM01 Natchez Navaho Nettleton Creamy White Newberry Nightfall Obsidian Onyx Osage Ouachita Ponca Prime-Ark 45 Prime-Ark Freedom Prime-Ark Horizon Prime-Ark Traveler Prime-Jan Prime-Jim Reuben Schultz Shawnee Siskiyou Smoothstem Sweetie Pie Thornfree Triple Crown Twilight Von Waldo Wild Treasure Willamette Thornless Marion
Canes of Natchez are thornless and are semi-erect (mostly) to erect. Average primocanes height is 120-180 cm, floricanes length - up to 4-6 m. If primocanes are tipped at one meter to control length and encourage lateral branching, Natchez blackberry can be grown in a hedgerow without trellis support. A common trellis used on erect cultivars by growers consists of two wires placed 1.0 to 1.2 m above the soil surface and separated horizontally 1.0 m. However, support of floricanes during fruiting is recommended and with a support trellis, the slightly less erect canes of Natchez should be easily managed by growers.
Average berry weight of Natchez cultivar is about 8 g. Berries of Natchez variety are elongated and somewhat blocky and very attractive with an exceptional glossy, black finish. Flower's color is white. Bloom starts at the beginning of May. First harvest - middle of June. Average health rating of Natchez is good, but variety is moderately resistant to anthracnose. Plant hardiness was observed to be good on Natchez in that it showed no to little injury to canes and buds.
Minimum winter low temperatures is about minus 15 C. Natchez needs to be planted in full-sun places (with protection from overheating in very hot regions) and sheltered for cold season.
Cultivar | Yield, kg/ha | Berry weight, g | ||
---|---|---|---|---|
2005 | 2006 | 2005 | 2006 | |
Clarksville | ||||
Natchez | 12773 | 8697 | 8.7 | 8.0 |
Apache | 13058 | 10699 | 8.6 | 8.2 |
Ouachita | 8913 | 7997 | 6.3 | 6.2 |
Hope | ||||
Natchez | 7169 | 8417 | 6.7 | 4.4 |
Apache | 4278 | 9957 | 7.9 | 6.7 |
Ouachita | 3159 | 21676 | 5.8 | 4.7 |
Main features | Variety | ||
---|---|---|---|
Apache | Ouachita | Natchez | |
Flowering date | |||
10% bloom | April 24 | April 23 | April 21 |
50% bloom | April 28 | April 24 | |
Harvest date | |||
First | June 19 | June 10 | June 3 |
Peak | July 7 | June 26 | June 8 |
Last | July 28 | July 20 | July 11 |
First-ripe rating (scale of 1 to 10 where 10 is the best) |
2.3 | 5.3 | 7.5 |
Berry weight, g | |||
First | 8.3 | 7.5 | 8.8 |
Peak | 10.1 | 7.0 | 10.2 |
Last | 8.8 | 5.7 | 8.0 |
Fruit (rating scale of 1 to 10 where 10 is the best) | |||
Firmness | 8.0 | 8.3 | 7.8 |
Flavor | 8.0 | 8.0 | 7.5 |
Soluble solids, % | 10.6 | 9.8 | 8.7 |
Seed fresh weight, mg | - | 6.2 | 6.8 |
Seed dry weight, mg | - | 4.2 | 4.2 |
Plant (rating scale of 1 to 10 where 10 is the best) | |||
Vigor | 7.5 | 7.0 | 7.0 |
Health | 8.5 | 8.3 | 7.8 |