Loch Tay blackberry variety

Loch Tay is a cultivar developed by Scottish Crop Research Institute (now the James Hutton Institute) in Dundee, using Loch Ness as one of the parents of this variety. Given an Award of Garden Merit (AGM) by the RHS in 2015. Well suited to smaller and medium sized gardens because it has a medium growth rate. Loch Tay is both an eating and cooking variety. 
Loch Tay is a floricane variety (produces fruit on last year's stems). Canes are semi-erect, average canes length is from 4 to 5 m. Flowers are normally produced in early May (depending on weather and region).
It is one of the most early ripening blackberry variety (about a week before Loch Ness) and certainly the best in terms of organoleptic characteristics of the fruit, even just picked. Average berry's weight is from 7 to 10 g. The color is glossy black. Transportability and storage ability is good. That makes Loch Tay the most suitable cultivar for fresh consumption. It has very few thorns at harvest time which is mid to late in the season. Fruit production is slightly longer than average starting in late July and finishing in early September. Expect a 9-10 kg harvest from a mature plant with individual fruits being smaller than average.
Cold-resistanse is low, Loch Tay isn't tolerate for winter wind and icing. But this variety has sufficient resistanse to most part of diseases and pests. Susceptible to purple blotch Septocyta ruborum and blackberry cane and leaf rust Kuehneola uredines.
Plants require winter shelters.