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The world leader in blackberry production is the United States. It is there that on the shelves of shops you can find a large selection of fresh berries and processed products. It is easiest to buy blackberries from us on the market. And even then the choice is unlikely to be large. But farmers have finally paid attention to this crop. The question is which variety to plant. For fresh berries that will be well stored and transported, you should pay attention to the bushy blackberry Chester Thornless.
History of breeding
The hybrid thornless blackberry Chester Thornless was bred in 1985 at the Beltsville, Maryland Research Center. The parent crops were the erect (kumanika) variety Darrow and the semi-creeping Thornfree.
Description of berry culture
The Black Satin blackberry also descended from the Darrow and Thornfree varieties, but it bears little resemblance to Chester Thornless.
General idea of the variety
Blackberry variety Chester Thornless forms semi-spreading shoots. Their maximum length is 3 m. Although the lashes are strong and thick, they bend well, which greatly facilitates maintenance. They begin to branch low, and lateral branches with good agricultural technology can reach 2 m.
The Chester Thornless blackberry has a high shoot-forming ability and not too long powerful lashes. If desired, they can not be tied to the trellis, but parted in different directions. So from the bush you can form a sprawling massive plant. True, it will be difficult to harvest a bountiful harvest. But due to the lack of thorns and the flexibility of the shoots, it is quite possible.
Fruit clusters are also formed low from the ground, which explains the high yield of the Chester Thornless blackberry variety. Dark green trifoliate leaves. The root system is branched and powerful.
Berries
The variety forms large pink flowers, for the most part with five petals. Chester Thornless blackberries cannot be called giant, their weight ranges from 5-8 g. But the variety is large-fruited.
The fruit twigs of the Chester Thornless variety are erect. It is noteworthy that fewer berries are formed at the ends of the shoots. The largest number of fruits are collected at the base of the bush. Fruitful are the shoots of last year.
The fruits are almost perfectly oval, blue-black, beautiful, mostly one-dimensional. The taste of Chester Thornless blackberries is good, sweet, with a noticeable, but not strong sourness. Fruit aroma is medium.
Domestic ratings highly appreciated the taste of berries. Gardeners’ reviews of Chester Thornless blackberries are mostly positive. Mean on assessments, and Ukrainian tasters rated the variety a solid four independently of each other.
But the main advantage of Chester Thornless blackberries is the high density of the fruit. They are well transported and retain their marketable qualities for a long time. Together with good taste, this has made the cultivation of Chester Thornless blackberries profitable for large and small farmers.
Characterization
In all respects, the Chester Thornless blackberry variety is excellent for growing as an industrial crop.
Main advantages
Chester Thornless outperforms other blackberries in frost resistance. It is able to withstand temperatures up to -30⁰ C. Drought resistance is also on the level. Just do not forget that the blackberry culture is moisture-loving in general.
Berries of the Chester Thornless variety are dense, endure transportation well and look great on the counter:
- they are beautiful;
- fruits do not flow, do not crumple, keep their shape well during storage;
- large enough to attract attention, but not so huge as to give the impression that there are only a few berries in a basket or plastic box.
Growing Chester Thornless blackberries is less of a hassle than other varieties. This is due to the fact that shortening and tying the shoots, although desirable, is not necessary.
Soil requirements for Chester Thornless are the same as for other varieties. The shoots are devoid of thorns along the entire length.
Flowering period and ripening period
Flowering in the Middle lane occurs in June. The berries ripen by the beginning of August, which is considered a medium-late fruiting period. In almost all regions, they manage to keep up with frost. This is due to the fact that the harvest time of Chester Thornless blackberries is less stretched than other varieties, starting in early August and lasting about a month.
Yield indicators, fruiting terms
The Chester Thornless variety is early-growing. He gives a full harvest in the third year after planting.
The average yield of the Chester Thornless blackberry variety is 10-15, and with good agricultural technology – up to 20 kg of berries per bush. Industrial plantations yield up to 30 t/ha.
Fruiting in the south begins at the end of July, in other regions – in August and lasts 3-4 weeks.
Scope of berries
Chester Thornless blackberries are consumed fresh and sent for processing. Their taste and aroma are better than most industrial varieties.
Disease and pest resistance
The Chester Thornless blackberry is resistant to pests, diseases and other negative factors. This does not cancel preventive treatments.
Advantages and disadvantages
If we consider the characteristics of the Chester Thornless blackberry as an industrial crop, they may seem ideal:
- Good taste of berries.
- High transportability and keeping quality of fruits.
- Processed products are tasty.
- High yield.
- Good escaping ability.
- The lashes are easy to bend, which makes it easier to get on a support, preparing for winter.
- The shoots are devoid of thorns along the entire length.
- High tolerance to heat and drought.
- It is not necessary for the variety to shorten the lateral branching.
- High resistance to diseases and pests.
- Short fruiting – 3-4 weeks.
- The Chester Thornless variety is one of the most frost-resistant.
But this blackberry is still not perfect:
- The taste of the berries is good, but not great.
- The fruits in the brush may not be one-dimensional.
- Due to low branching, Chester Thornless is difficult to cover for the winter. And cutting off the side shoots located near the ground is not recommended – this is where most of the crop is formed.
- The variety still needs to be covered.
Methods of reproduction
In the Chester Thornless blackberry, the shoots first grow up and then droop. The variety is easy to propagate by rooting layering or by bubbling.
The variety propagates well by green or root cuttings, dividing the bush.
Rules of landing
The Chester Thornless variety is planted in the same way as other blackberries.
Recommended dates
In the northern regions and the Middle Strip, it is recommended to plant blackberries in the spring, when the soil warms up. Then the plant will have time to take root well and get stronger before the onset of frost. In the south, all varieties, including Chester Thornless, are planted in early autumn when the heat subsides.
Choosing the right place
Blackberry variety Chester Thornless will grow and bear fruit in partial shade. But such landing is admissible only in the south. In other regions, with a lack of sunlight, the harvest will be poor, the berries will be small and sour. Some of them will not have time to ripen before frost.
The soil needs slightly acidic, loose, fertile. Light loams are best suited. Carbonate (sandy) soils are not suitable.
Groundwater should not come closer than a meter to the ground surface.
Soil Preparation
Pits for planting blackberries are dug in 2 weeks. Their standard size is 50x50x50 cm. The top fertile soil layer is mixed with a bucket of humus, 120-150 g of superphosphate and 50 g of potash fertilizers. The soil is improved:
- excessively acidic – with lime;
- neutral or alkaline – red (horse) peat;
- dense – sand;
- carbonate – with additional doses of organics.
The planting hole is 2/3 covered with fertile soil and filled with water.
Selection and preparation of seedlings
In nurseries and organizations selling planting material, Chester Thornless blackberries are not so rare, the variety is easy to find. But it is better to buy young plants from reliable partners.
First of all, you should pay attention to the roots – they should be well developed, without damage, smell like earth, and not mold or a cesspool.
A smooth, even bark without cracks or wrinkles is a sign of a healthy blackberry.
Algorithm and landing scheme
On industrial plantations, the distance between Chester Thornless blackberry seedlings is 1,2-1,5 m, in private gardens – from 2,5 to 3 m, row spacing – at least 3 m. If you want to grow a variety as a free-standing powerful bush, under leave him a large area. But it will be more decorative than a fruit-bearing plant – it is inconvenient to harvest inside.
Landing is carried out in the following sequence:
- In the center of the pit, a mound is poured, around which blackberry roots are straightened.
- They fall asleep, constantly compacting the soil. The root neck should be located 1,5-2,0 cm below the surface.
- The seedling is watered with a bucket of water.
- The soil is mulched.
Culture aftercare
Planting is completed, and Chester Thornless blackberry care begins with abundant watering of the bush. The soil should not dry out completely until the plant takes root.
Growing principles
Blackberry Chester Thornless is remarkable in that it can be left untied, growing as a large bush. This is due to the natural length of the main shoots – up to 3 m. But such a blackberry will decorate the garden. It will be difficult to collect the berries hidden inside the bush.
So it is better to tie Chester Thornless blackberries to a multi-row or T-shaped support up to 2 m high. For convenience, fruiting shoots are fixed on one side, young lashes on the other.
Necessary activities
Although the variety is drought-resistant, in the south, in hot weather, blackberries are watered once a week. In regions with cool summers – as needed – the soil under the plant should not dry out, the culture is moisture-loving. To reduce watering, the soil is mulched.
Loosening is best done at the beginning and end of the season. The rest of the time it will be replaced by mulching: on acidic soils – with humus, on alkaline soils – with high-moor peat.
Variety Chester Thornless brings a large yield, despite the relatively short shoots. It needs to be fed intensively. If the soil was well filled before planting, they begin to fertilize the blackberries in a year.
In the spring nitrogen is introduced, at the beginning of flowering – a mineral complex without chlorine. During the ripening period of berries, blackberries are given a solution of mullein infusion (1:10) or green fertilizers (1:4). Foliar top dressing with the addition of a chelate complex will benefit. In autumn, blackberries are fed with potassium monophosphate.
shrub pruning
After fruiting, old branches are cut at ground level. In autumn, only broken lateral shoots and the weakest lashes are removed from the annual growth – despite the high winter hardiness, some of them can be damaged by frost.
In the spring, the branches are normalized. Some gardeners leave 3 shoots. This makes sense if the blackberries are poorly cared for, for example, in a rarely visited country house. With intensive cultivation, 5-6 lashes are left.
Side shoots can not be pinched at all. But this will complicate care, besides, the need for top dressing will increase. Whether to shorten the side lashes as soon as they reach 40 cm, each gardener decides for himself.
Preparation for winter
After fruiting, which in the northern regions barely has time to end before the onset of frost, and pruning of old shoots, young lashes are removed from the support, tied up and covered for the winter. To do this, use spruce branches, straw, agorvolokno or spandbond, dry land. It is even better to build special tunnels.
Although Chester Thornless blackberry shoots bend well, lateral branching begins quite close to the base of the bush. This complicates the shelter procedure, but it is at the bottom that most fruit clusters form.
Diseases and pests: methods of control and prevention
Blackberry Chester Thornless is resistant to diseases, rarely affected by pests. But at the beginning and end of the season, it is imperative to carry out preventive spraying with copper-containing preparations. Need sanitary and brightening pruning.
You can not plant crops that can infect blackberries with their diseases closer than 50 meters. These include raspberries, nightshade, strawberries. If this is not feasible, at least place them as far away as possible.
Conclusion
Blackberry Chester Thornless is one of the best commercial varieties producing high quality fresh berries. It will also fit perfectly into a small household plot due to its productivity, unpretentiousness and shoots devoid of thorns.
