Kiowa blackberry variety
Very productive old thorny blackberry cultivar with sweet nice-looking giant fruit

Rubus subgenus Rubus Watson 'Kiowa'

Originated from a cross of Ark. 791 x Ark. 1058

Variety denomination - 'Kiowa', tested as Ark. 1380

Plants are thorny

Bushes have erect canes

Fruit weight is 10 g

Berries have a ovate shape

Fruiting habit - floricane fruiting (summer-bearing)

Flowering on floricanes starts in the first week of May

Ripening date (regular) - third week of June

Productivity is 15 kg per plant

Soluble solids - 10.3%

Cold hardiness is excellent

Heat tolerance is low

Country of origin - United States

Patent Plant 9,861 dated April 13, 1997

Current status - obsolete or rarely used

Recommended replacement - Natchez
Kiowa produces larger fruit and has a longer harvest period than previously released Arkansas cultivars. Kiowa has thorned canes with large thorny leaves. Canes are self-supporting and require no trellis.
A major feature of blackberry Kiowa is its large fruit size. Kiowa produces large fruit during all the harvest season. The harvest season of Kiowa is long, with fruit ripening over six weeks compared to the four to six weeks harvest periods for most blackberry cultivars. Kiowa fruit are blocky, oblong and have an attractive, glossy black finish. Kiowa plants are not very vigorous. Fruiting row establishment has been good, using either plants or root cuttings. For best production, primocanes of Kiowa blackberry should be tipped in summer when they reach 1.0 to 1.2 m high, and lateral branches must be pruned to 40 cm during winter dormancy.
Kiowa variety is moderately resistant to anthracnose and there have been no disease problems following a fungicide program consisting of a single application of liquid lime sulfur at budbreak. There has been no orange rust on Kiowa. The reaction of plants to rosette has not been determined.
Plants have shown no visible injury following field exposure to minus 23 C, and annual ratings for cold hardiness indicate that Kiowa is enough hardy. The outstanding characteristics of Kiowa blackberry are its large fruit size, which is maintained throughout the harvest season, and its long ripening period.
Kiowa was very good blackberry for markets, in which large fruit and an extended harvest season are desired. Its fruiting characteristics also make Kiowa popular as a home-garden cultivar.
Cultivar | Yield, kg/ha | Fruit weight, g | ||
---|---|---|---|---|
1993 | 1994 | 1993 | 1994 | |
Clarksville | ||||
Kiowa | 7200 | 7600 | 11.1 | 10.0 |
Choctaw | 5100 | 6900 | 6.1 | 4.8 |
Shawnee | 7700 | 12300 | 7.6 | 5.9 |
Hope | ||||
Kiowa | 5100 | 12800 | 13.0 | 10.0 |
Choctaw | 5100 | 8500 | 4.9 | 4.2 |
Shawnee | 9700 | 18200 | 9.0 | 6.7 |
Fayetteville | ||||
Kiowa | 3000 | 7300 | 9.6 | 7.0 |
Choctaw | 4800 | 13900 | 5.8 | 3.8 |
Shawnee | 3500 | 15400 | 5.9 | 5.1 |
Bald Knob | ||||
Kiowa | 7700 | 8000 | 9.3 | 6.8 |
Choctaw | 4200 | 6200 | 4.6 | 2.7 |
Shawnee | 5900 | 9700 | 5.6 | 3.7 |
Main features | Variety | ||
---|---|---|---|
Kiowa | Choctaw | Shawnee | |
Date | |||
Budbreak | Feb. 22 | Feb. 25 | Feb. 25 |
50% bloom | May 2 | April 26 | April 30 |
First crop (5%) | June 12 | May 31 | June 9 |
Peak (50%) | June 30 | June 10 | June 24 |
Last crop (95%) | July 23 | June 22 | July 11 |
Fruit (rating scale of 1 to 10 where 10 is the best) | |||
Firmness | 8.0 | 7.6 | 7.5 |
Flavor | 8.2 | 8.7 | 7.6 |
Seed size, mg/pcs | 3.8 | 1.9 | 3.9 |
Soluble solids, % | 10.3 | 9.2 | 9.9 |
Plant (rating scale of 1 to 10 where 10 is the best) | |||
Vigor | 7.6 | 9.0 | 9.8 |
Health | 8.6 | 9.0 | 8.8 |
Winter injury | 9.5 | 8.2 | 9.6 |

What diseases is blackberry Kiowa resistant to?

What diseases is blackberry variety Kiowa vulnerable to?
Download Kiowa patent US00PP09861P
