Raspberry it is a cultivated species that belongs to the group of “small fruits”, increasingly appreciated for their nutritional value and potentially profitable for those who cultivate them. In fact, these cultures are among the most capable of improve small plots of land even in so-called disadvantaged areas, offering abundant production also thanks to organic farming.
It is an excellent crop to place in the garden or on its borders, also because, like many berries, it is a shrub that can produce even in partially shaded areas, not being suitable for many other crops. The most cultivated raspberry in our country is the red one (Rubus idaeus) but there are also yellow and purple varieties.
The plant belongs to the Rosaceae family. and it has the form of a bush no more than 1 to 3 meters high, with a perennial stem and an aerial part consisting of shoots and suckers. The suckers are the new “shoots” that begin to grow in the spring and remain herbaceous for months; normally they have thorns and in August they turn into buds . The latter have mixed buds and bear fruit the following spring. The natural raspberry kind (which produces only once a year) bears fruit on shoots sprouted the previous year. However, there are also varieties of raspberries which already bear fruit in late summer and autumn in the apical part of the germinated shoots in the same year. At the end of this fruiting, the apical part of the shoots dries up and the following year, in June-July, the middle-lower part of the shoots will give its second fruiting. For this reason, reflowering varieties are also called bifers, as they produce twice a year.
Contents [Ocultar]
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Adapted climate and terrain
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Climate necessary for cultivation
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the perfect ground
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How to plant raspberries
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Transplant
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Spread
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sixth installation
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Raspberry cultivation in detail
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How to prune raspberries
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plant shape
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pruning operations
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raspberry diseases
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Gray mold (Botrytis cinerea)
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raspberry root rot
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Didymel
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powdery mildew
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harmful insects
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Flower midge (Drosophila suzukii)
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Antony
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raspberry harvest
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raspberry varieties
Contents
Adapted climate and terrain
Raspberries spread spontaneously like thickets, so they want fairly acidic soil rich in organic matter, which in the forest is naturally provided by fallen leaves.
Climate necessary for cultivation
The raspberry is found spontaneously in the temperate climatic zones of central and northern Italy, more rarely in the south. It is usually found in clearings or at the edge of deciduous and coniferous forests and grows best in low to mid-mountain valleys between 700 and 1400 meters above sea level. the species is suitable for frequent rains, As long as they are well distributed over time, it suffers from dry winds but benefits from light winds which ventilate the rows of vines, curbing fungal diseases such as Botrytis.
Knowing that it can be cultivated up to 1500 m altitude, it is a species resistant to winter cold and, on the contrary, it requires a certain need for cold to bear fruit, that is a sum of 800 to 1700 hours (according to the varieties) with temperatures below 7°C. In cultivation it manages to improve situations of partial shade but it is in the positions sunny where it offers the best production results.
the perfect ground
Raspberry prefers rich soils , well endowed with organic matter, even partially undecomposed, and able to retain moisture for a long time, since the roots of this species are rather superficial (most of them are in the top 25 cm of soil). It does not tolerate limestone and prefers subacid pH around 6.5.
How to plant raspberries
When planting raspberries, it is best to avoid soils that have previously supported crops of other rosaceae such as strawberries or brambles, to avoid soil fatigue and the proliferation of pathogenic fungi and common pests. The time of the transplant is the period of vegetative rest, for information only between November and March but if the propagation material is potted plants with a good amount of soil, there is no problem in carrying out the transplant even in late spring , because in this case they would not undergo the stress. When planting raspberries, the presence of different varieties is not necessary for pollination.
the transplant
you dig holes they don’t melt too much bearing in mind that the rooted suckers you plant have a contained root system. A basic fertilization is applied based on manure or mature compost to which is added granulated manure or another organic fertilizer such as cornunga and possibly also natural minerals such as rock flour.
The propagation
The simplest and most widely used multiplication method for raspberry is the rooted sucker , taken during the vegetative rest of those remaining in the rows and chosen from among the robust and well-rooted ones. This means that starting from a small raspberry plant, it is possible to extend the harvest year after year without spending more on propagation material, as long as it remains healthy.
implant six
Between one row and another of raspberries you can leave about 2.5 to 3 meters, and between individual plants about 70-80cm , but their culture tends to form a sort of continuous hedge. In the vegetable garden, they are often placed on the edges, near the outer fence.
Raspberry cultivation in detail
Raspberry is not a particularly demanding plant as a crop, although it does require minimal maintenance and can benefit from some watering and pruning. In organic farming, it is important to be able to recognize pest and disease attacks in order to intervene quickly.
Registration
If rainfall is scarce and poorly distributed, it is useful to install a drip irrigation system between rows to be used in summer for larger, succulent berries. In spring, on the other hand, it is better not to water, except in the event of drought, to avoid the risk of root rot.
Varnese
Mulch in the rows is very helpful in containing weed growth which removes water and nutrients from raspberries, which have extensive but rather shallow roots. It is possible to distribute a layer of straw which must be renewed each year by placing a handful of granulated organic fertilizer underneath, or choose the solution of black leaves . Alternatively, where water is not a limiting factor, spaces between rows can be herbaceous with an advantage in terms of biodiversity protection. The grass can be cut regularly in alternate rows, in order to partly preserve its ecological value, and the advantage of this solution on sloping ground is also the reduction of erosion.
How to prune raspberries
The raspberry is a shrub that grows spontaneously, but if it is cultivated it benefits from pruning operations, aimed at improving the quality and productivity of the harvest but above all at regulating the plant, making it more orderly and comfortable to handle.
plant shape
Raspberry plants are usually kept in rows with metal poles, crossbars and two pairs of cables that serve as guides. The lower pair of cables is about 80 cm from the ground and the two cables are 40 cm apart, while the upper pair is about 1.5 meters from the ground and the two cables are 70-80 cm apart. In this way the shoots are in the middle of the cables, remain supported and form a V. This shape also facilitates harvesting operations.
Print operations
When deciding whether to plant raspberry seedlings, it is necessary to know from the outset whether they are single or post-flowering varieties, since, among other things, the size also depends on this.
Sprouts of unique varieties they dry out after fruiting and must be removed during the following winter. So every year all dry buds must be removed from the rows of raspberries and the new shoots they need to be thinned out so that there are about 7-8 shoots per linear meter, leaving the strongest. These are cut a little above the last line containing the line. Therefore, the raspberry plants are renewed every year. During the growing season, suckers growing in the middle of the row and those remaining along the row are removed.
In remontant varieties the shoots of the year are harvested after the first production in autumn, while after the second production in June-July of the following year they are removed at the base.
However, in commercial cultivation, to simplify, they treat bifid crops as if they were unified, taking advantage only of the autumn production above the shoots, after which they cut everything flat to renew the vegetation. This choice guarantees a more abundant and earlier production in autumn and also always eliminates possible inoculations of diseases.