Emerging Researchers National (ERN) Conference

nsf-logo[1]

Researching Four Raspberry Varieties and Their Size and Yield

Undergraduate #82
Discipline: Ecology Environmental and Earth Sciences
Subcategory: Plant Research

Bianca Gilliam - Virginia State University

Randolph Farms located at VSU has four varieties of raspberries growing under high tunnel conditions. The four varieties are Josephine, Joan J, Polka, and Himbo Top. These plants have great potential for profitability for Virginia farmers, but a sufficient amount of data has not yet been obtained. This research is a continuation of work done in 2013. Each of the four raspberry varieties has nine plants, all of which were harvested to obtain data. The data was collected by harvesting all of the fruits found on the floricane and the primocane on Monday, Wednesday, and Saturday. A measurement of the size of the berries was also taken using the weight of the ten randomly chosen berries. This research is ongoing but we found that the variety with the largest fruit is Josephine and the highest yielding is Himbo Top. It is important to note that this may change throughout the growing season. Raspberries produce fruit from May until November, therefore, the data collected this summer may not correctly convey the entire season’s data’s findings. The research will continue until the end of the growing season, and adjustments based on the findings will be made.

Funder Acknowledgement(s): Virginia State University

Faculty Advisor: Reza Rafie,

nsf-logo[1]

This material is based upon work supported by the National Science Foundation (NSF) under Grant No. DUE-1930047. Any opinions, findings, interpretations, conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of its authors and do not represent the views of the AAAS Board of Directors, the Council of AAAS, AAAS’ membership or the National Science Foundation.