Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
6.7.2 Importance in Human Nutrition
Berries do not constitute a major portion of most people's diets, although significant
quantities may be eaten when they are in season. In these cases berries may provide
significant amounts of carbohydrates, vitamins, and minerals depending on the type
of berry. The nutritional characteristics of berries is given below.
6.7.3
Plantings, Cultivation, and Long-Term Care
Berries may bring to mind fruit growing on thorny stalks or low-growing bushy plants.
However, there are a diversity of plant types that produce what are commonly called
berries. Blackberries and raspberries (Fig. 6.3) do grow on thorny stalks. However,
of the berries in Table 6.5, only mulberries grow on trees, while blueberries
(Fig. 6.4) grow on bushlike plants. Strawberries (Fig. 6.23) and cranberries are pro-
duced by low-growing bushy plants, cranberries being grown in bogs or in marshy
areas. Grapes are most often trained to grow on trellises (see Chapter 4 for more on
trellises).
Tree fruit such as mulberries and bush fruit such as blueberries are long-lived
plants that produce for many years. They are often planted, protected, and harvested
much like any tree fruit, and spacing between plants is dependent on plant size and
the equipment used in berry production. Blackberries and raspberries grow on thorny
stalks. The first year's growth is vegetative and one-year-old stalks bear fruit. After
fruiting the old stalks are removed. However, a planted area is kept in the same
berry production for many years.
Both cranberries and strawberries are vinelike plants, but this is where the
similarity ends. Cranberries are evergreen plants that grow in acid peat bogs while
strawberries require slightly acid well-drained soils. In addition the fruits are quite
T A B L E 6.5. Selected Common Berries: Characteristics and How Eaten
Common and
Scientific Names
Characteristics
How Eaten
Blackberries, Rubus spp.
Rounded with sections
containing seeds
Stems removed; berries eaten
whole
Blueberries, Vaccinium
corymbosum
Round fruit usually without
seeds
Stems removed; berries eaten
whole
Cranberries, Vaccinium
oxycoccus
Small round berries with thin
skin and few seeds
Eaten whole and jellies
Grapes, Vitis vinifera
Skin surrounding flesh
containing seeds
Skin and flesh eaten
Mulberries, Broussonetia
papyrifera
Round with sections
containing seeds
Stems removed; berries eaten
whole
Raspberries, Rubus spp.
Round with sections
containing seeds
Stems removed; berries eaten
whole
Strawberries, Fragaria
virginiana
Conical shaped with flesh
containing seeds
Stems removed and whole
berry eaten
