ENHANCEMENT OF SOME IMPORTANT TRAITS OF THE NORWEGIAN RED RASPBERRY

Red raspberries grow wild in most of Norway, and are well adapted to the Norwegian climates.
However, the cultivated red raspberry are susceptible to freeze injury, and are therefor mainly grown in coastal areas in the south of Norway.
The fruits are mainly picked for processing, and neither the main cultivar ‘Veten’, nor any other of the cultivars grown in Norway, are suited for fresh market production other than PYO.

A major goal in the Norwegian breeding program, has therefore been to improve freeze tolerance and fruit firmness.
Since the breeding program is new, mass selection was chosen as the breeding method from the start.
That method is now supported by family tests, to limit the number of parents used in mass selection.
There are improvements in fruit firmness of selections which are at least as freeze tolerant as ‘Veten’, and that have fruit size and appearance comparable to ‘Veten.
There is now a stronger priority in the programme directed toward improved disease resistance and fruit quality.

VI International Symposium on Rubus and Ribes

R. Nestby

https://doi.org/10.17660/ActaHortic.1993.352.63