Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
The trend towards protected cropping and substrate-based production is likely to
continue, driven by the need for increased intensification and difficulties in dealing
with soil-borne diseases. Although these production systems are more expensive
to set up, they deliver higher productivity per unit area and reduced pressure from
most diseases, resulting in fewer chemical inputs. The combination of cultivars with
improved disease resistance and elevated cropping systems under protection will
help to achieve the goals of eliminating pesticide residues, minimising waste and
reducing harvesting costs.
Raspberries (
Rubus
spp.)
Genetic Resources and Breeding
Raspberries are among the most globally well known fruits, and are members
of the
Rubus
genus, one of the most diverse in the plant kingdom with several
hundred species (Jennings
1988
). Raspberry is the main crop within the genus, pre-
senting different colours (from black to yellow) and shapes (conic to round). The
red raspberry plant
Rubus idaeus
L. has biennial canes attached to a long-lived root
system. Raspberry breeding started in the fourteenth century, with the first scientific
report published in 1913 (Moore
1979
).
The red raspberry can be divided in two main groups according to their flower-
ing behaviour, namely, primocane and floricane fruiting varieties. The first report
regarding primocane fruiting behavior dates from 1806 (Brierley
1931
). A cultivar
is considered a primocane fruiter if flower differentiation occurs during the growing
season and if fruiting is sufficient to allow a profitable crop.
There were presently around 30
Rubus
breeding programmes globally, mainly
focused on red raspberry (Finn and Knight
2002
), and there have been additional
efforts to breed black raspberries due to their high anthocyanin content (Dossett
et al.
2012
; Weber
2003
).
Commercial Production
Raspberries are increasingly popular berries, with sales historically high in the retail
market (Sills
2010
). World raspberry acreage and production has been stable for the
last ten years, around 92,098 ha with 463,447 tonnes for both fresh and processing
with Russia Poland and Serbia being the largest producer with more that 63 % of
the total (FAO Stat
2012
). This achievement has been possible due to advances in
knowledge throughout the supply chain, and in particular the development of new
cropping methods, which harness the remarkable physiology of the raspberry plant
and its plasticity to allow raspberries to be available all year round. For the fresh
market several growing systems, often based on the use of protected cropping under
