Choctaw blackberry variety

Choctaw is one of the "Indian" family of the American blackberry cultivars. Selected from a Rosborough hand-pollinated cross in 1975 at the Arkansas Agricultural Experiment Station Fruit Substation at Clarksville.
Plants of Choctaw are highly vigorous and prolific and row establishment following planting is rapid. Both primocanes and floricanes are very erect and the fruit is easily accessible to both machine and hand harvest. Thorn size and density of thorns are medium. Fruit clusters are medium-large, and are borne on the periphery of the plant canopy, providing easy access to harvest. Flower fertility is high and clusters are well filled.
Fruit of this blackberry ripens very early, average ripening date is last week of May in south regions. The harvest period is shorter than most other erect varieties - about 20 days. Yield is high. The fruit is short conic in shape, bright black in color and medium large in size (averaged 5 g). The fruit is moderately firm when full ripe. The fresh fruit have very good flavor and aroma with a slight sourness, seed size is very small.
Choctaw is moderately tolerant to anthracnose, immune to orange rust, but is occasionally attacked by powdery mildew. Plant is not cold hardy, this variety is destined for warm south regions.