Can blackberries be grown in northern China?

AbstractBlackberries cannot be grown in the north because they have extremely high requirements for soil and environment. In China, blackberries are grown in relatively large quantities in provinces such as Hubei, Jiangxi, Hunan, Sichuan and Chongqing. Blackberries do not keep well and are generally processed into frozen fruit for export to Europe, the United States and other places. Within 4 hours after blackberries are picked, they must be sterilized and frozen for preservation, so fresh blackberries are almost impossible to buy on the market.

Because blackberries have high requirements for soil and environment, they are not suitable for planting in Northeast China, while provinces such as Shandong, Henan, Hebei, Anhui, Shaanxi, Zhejiang, Hubei, Jiangxi, Hunan, Sichuan, Chongqing and Guizhou are important bases for blackberry cultivation. Blackberries do not keep well. Four hours after picking, they must immediately be washed, sterilized and frozen for preservation; otherwise their nutrients will be lost and they will ferment and spoil. Blackberries produced in China are mainly processed into frozen fruit for export to Europe, the United States and other places, so fresh blackberries cannot be bought on the market.

Blackberry growing conditions

Blackberry cultivation has relatively high requirements for soil and environment. The moisture and fertility of the soil must be well controlled. Blackberries grow in a creeping, upward manner, and their stems bear sharp thorns. When the stems bend and droop, the branches touch the ground, and nodes at the tips of the branches grow roots. Because of this characteristic, blackberries growing in woodland, shrubland and on hillsides can occupy a large area of land in a very short time.

Flowers that bloom early can produce more drupelets than those that bloom later. This characteristic indicates the following possibilities: root nutrients are exhausted, the number of pollinators decreases, environmental conditions change, and in rainy weather or weather that is too hot, bees cannot work after early morning, which reduces pollination, so the quality of the fruit is not as good as that of fruit set by earlier flowers.

Blackberry drupelets mainly develop and grow near the ovules. The male gametes in pollen grains fertilize the ovules. The blackberry ripening period is from the end of June to the beginning of August. Because blackberries are a delicate fruit, they must be picked by hand, so the amount of labor required is relatively large.

Because blackberries are rich in anthocyanins, selenium and other highly effective antioxidant active substances, as well as amino acids and trace elements needed by the human body, they have been recognized by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations as a third-generation new special fruit, and also enjoy the reputations of “fruit of life” and “black diamond”.