Raspberry High-Yield Cultivation Technique Tutorial: Detailed Explanation of the Latest Growing Methods

Raspberry is also known as mountain berry, shanpaozi, niunaipao, sayangpao, sanyuepao, siyuepao, raspberry (fupenzi), and so on. It is a woody plant of the genus Rubus in the rose family. Its fruit is used as a fruit in Europe and America, and the fruit tastes sweet and sour. It is widely distributed in China but little known, with only a small amount cultivated in the Northeast region, and it is relatively rare on the market. Now let us take a look at the high-yield cultivation techniques for raspberry!

Raspberry Growth Habits

1. Environment: Raspberry usually grows by streams in mountainous and semi-mountainous areas, in hillside shrub thickets, at forest edges, and among piles of rocks. It grows vigorously on barren slopes or, after slash-and-burn, under tung oil tree and oil tea forests. It prefers warmth and humidity and requires well-lit diffused light. It is not strict about soil and has strong adaptability, but soil that is fertile, has strong water and fertilizer retention, and drains well is better, from slightly acidic soil to neutral sandy loam, red soil, purple soil, and so on.

2. Fruiting: Raspberry fruits early and easily enters the full fruiting stage. Generally, it bears fruit two years after planting, has a good yield in 3 years, and reaches its highest yield at 4 to 5 years, with the full fruiting stage lasting about 15 years. Its root system is shallow and it is not drought-tolerant; insufficient water will inhibit growth and fruiting. The flowering period is April to May, and the fruiting period is June to July. If soil moisture evaporation is too great and water is insufficient, the yield will be affected.

Raspberry Propagation Methods

1. Root suckers: The mother raspberry plant should be kept with moist, loose soil and sufficient nutrients. Select well-developed root suckers and keep them 10-15 cm apart. After autumn, dig up the root suckers; dig deeply and retain more side branches. They can be planted as soon as they are dug, or first heeled in after digging and used to establish the plantation in early spring the following year.

2. Cuttings: For raspberry cuttings, dig out lateral roots about 1 cm thick, choose roots with buds, cut them into root segments about 10 cm long, and carry out cuttings in mid-March. Dig a ditch 10 cm deep, insert the roots obliquely into the seedbed, leaving one quarter exposed above the soil, then cover level.

3. Transplanting plants: From November each year to March of the following year, dig wild plants from mountain woodland, cut off the aboveground primocanes, keep 20 cm of length, and be careful not to damage the dormant buds at the base. Then transplant them into a leveled field with a plant spacing of 25 cm and 2700 plants per mu. After planting, firm the soil, water to settle the roots, and cover with straw, dry grass, and so on.

Raspberry Cultivation Techniques

1. Orchard establishment: In East China, raspberry can be planted in spring or autumn, generally preferably in mid-to-late November or mid-to-late March. Choose a plot sheltered from wind and facing the sun, with loose soil, high organic matter content, and moist soil that is not prone to waterlogging, to establish the plantation. Before establishment, deep plow and level the land, and apply 2000-4000 kg of farmyard manure per mu. The planting method is the strip method, with row spacing of 2 m, plant spacing of 0.4-0.8 m, and planting holes measuring 30×30×30 cm. When planting seedlings, be careful to protect the basal buds from damage.

2. Fertilizer and water: Apply sufficient base fertilizer before transplanting, with 3-5 kg of farmyard manure per plant. During the growing period, combine loosening the soil and weeding, and apply topdressing 2-3 times each year, mainly nitrogen fertilizer, with an appropriate amount of phosphorus and potassium fertilizer. Apply seedling fertilizer in March, flower fertilizer in April, and overwintering fertilizer in November. Apply 1500-2000 kg of human and livestock manure per mu. Pay attention to watering during summer and autumn droughts.

3. Trellising: Raspberry branches are soft and often droop to the ground, or lodge in wind, affecting yield and quality. When new branches produce side branches in April to May, remove the terminal buds to promote side branch growth, and at the same time pinch the side branches to encourage secondary side branches. More branches mean lush leaves, increasing the number of fruiting canes for the next year and increasing yield. During the fruiting period, set up a support beside each plant to prevent lodging.

4. Pruning: In spring, promptly cut off the dried tips of the two-year-old canes to encourage the remaining branches to produce strong fruiting canes. Thin out overly dense and pest- or disease-damaged branches at the base, leaving 7-8 two-year-old canes per plant and maintaining a reasonable density to facilitate ventilation and light penetration and ensure high and stable yields. After harvesting, cut off the two-year-old canes and thin out branch suckers and overly dense primocanes to control the total number of canes in the plantation.

5. Harvesting: The harvest time for raspberry is from mid-May to early June, when the fruit has fully developed and is green, not yet turning red and ripe. Harvest in batches. After picking, remove stems, leaves, receptacles, and other impurities, then pour them into boiling water and blanch for 2-3 minutes before removing. Then spread them out to sun-dry or dry them. The finished product is best when the grains are intact, firm, yellow-green in color, sour in taste, and free of stem, leaf, and debris fragments.

Raspberry Disease and Pest Control

1. Stem rot

[Symptoms] Stem rot is a serious disease harming the primocanes at the base of the raspberry plant. It generally occurs on new shoots, first appearing on the sun-facing side of the new shoot relatively close to the ground as a dark gray, scald-like lesion about 1.5-5.5 cm long and 0.6-1.2 cm wide. The lesion spreads rapidly in all directions, the diseased part gradually turns brown, and many small black spots of varying sizes appear on the surface of the lesion. The xylem turns brown and necrotic. As the diseased part expands, the leaves and petioles turn yellow and wither, and in severe cases the whole plant dies.

[Control] In autumn, clean the plantation, cut off diseased branches, and burn them in a centralized manner to eliminate the pathogen. From May to August, spraying can be used for control. In mid-May and in July, at the early stage of disease occurrence, spray susceptible varieties with thiophanate-methyl 500x solution, or 40% fosetyl-aluminum 500x solution, or thiram 500x solution.

2. Powdery mildew

[Symptoms] The second disease of raspberry is called powdery mildew. Infected raspberry leaves are covered with a layer of white powdery material, causing leaves to become distorted or curled. Sometimes the leaves do not show white powdery material but instead show water-soaked spots. In severe cases, new shoot growth is stunted, and fruit is sometimes also infected.

[Control] Before winter protection, clean the plantation, collect diseased leaves and branches, and burn them in a centralized manner to eliminate the pathogen. Before bud break in early spring, after flowering, and at the young fruit stage, spray 70% thiophanate-methyl wettable powder 1000x solution, or 25% triadimefon wettable powder 1000-1500x solution, or 50% sulfur suspension concentrate 200-300x solution.

3. Willow swift moth

[Symptoms] The willow swift moth is a major pest harming raspberry, seriously affecting the yield of raspberry the following year. Larvae mostly begin boring into new shoots in early July, generally at 40-60 cm above the ground, and mostly bore downward. The larvae often come out to gnaw the phloem outside the borehole, mostly eating around the entire circumference. The chewed wood fragments and frass are stuck together with silk, tying a ring around the branch that remains for a long time and is easy to find and identify. Damaged branches break very easily and dry up and die.

[Control] In late August, before adult emergence, cut off damaged shoots. Raspberry plantations where plants are buried in soil for winter protection can reduce the occurrence of this pest. In severely affected raspberry plantations, from late May to early June during the active period of young larvae, spray the ground with 2.5% deltamethrin 2000-3000x solution.

4. Raspberry crown borer

[Symptoms] The raspberry crown borer mainly harms red raspberry. In autumn, larvae make small cocoons and overwinter under the bark at the base of primocanes. During the leaf expansion period, larvae crawl onto new shoots, bore into the buds, eat out the inside of the buds, and then bore into raspberry new shoots, which are damaged and quickly die. Adults emerge during the flowering period and lay eggs in the flowers in the evening. The larvae first feed on the berries, but soon move to the base of the plant to overwinter.

[Control] In autumn, clean the plantation and burn the cut fruiting canes in a centralized manner. During the leaf expansion period in early spring, spray 80% dichlorvos 1000x solution, or 2.5% deltamethrin 3000x solution to kill the larvae.

5. Borer beetles

[Symptoms] Adults of the pest usually begin feeding on tender leaves in spring and bite into flower buds, feeding on stamens and nectaries. Damaged flower buds fall off or become deformed fruit. Adults lay eggs in the flowers, and after 8-10 days the larvae hatch and immediately bore into the fruit to feed. Damaged berries lose weight and rot easily.

[Control] In severely affected raspberry plantations, apply pesticide to the ground in late April during the period when adults emerge from the soil, using 0.4 kg of 2.5% trichlorfon powder plus 25 kg of fine sand. In lightly affected raspberry plantations, manual control can be used. When adults begin damaging flowers, shake the fruiting canes so that adults fall into a suitable container and are destroyed in a centralized manner. Collect damaged fruit promptly, and collect and destroy larvae that have left the fruit.