Crop Profile for Raspberries in Oregon

Prepared: August 2, 1999
Revised: September 7, 1999

General Production Information

(Raspberries in this report include red and black raspberries, thimbleberries, blackcaps, and others.)

Oregon ranks second nationally in raspberry production.
Berry growers in Oregon account for all of the country’s black raspberries and 26.1% of the nation’s red raspberries.
Growers harvested 4,700 acres of raspberries (19,600,000 pounds) worth $13,645,000.
Ten years ago, black raspberries cost $1,688 per acre to grow during producing years 3-7.
Growers send processors over 19 million pounds of Oregon berries each year and market the remaining 510,000 pounds fresh.

Production Regions

The Willamette Valley is Oregon’s major production region. Clackamas County growers farm the most acres, followed by growers in Washington, Multnomah, and Marion Counties. Other counties with reportable acres are Linn and Yamhill (3, 4).

Cultural Practices

Raspberry crowns and root systems are perennial; canes are biennial. Growers propagate plants vegetatively. Parallel wires along each side of the row support the canes, which can grow to over 10 feet high. Workers head the plants so they do not grow over 6 feet tall (5).

It takes 2 years for raspberry plants to reach maturity, and they live for 6–30 years. Workers plant them 2–4 feet apart, leaving 8–10 feet between rows (7).

Growers irrigate plants by drip or trickle methods so plants are not wet too long. Overhead irrigation is not suitable (8).

Insect Pests

Raspberry crown borer is the most damaging raspberry pest. Orange tortrix and obliquebanded leafroller commonly infest raspberry fields but cause little direct damage to fruit or canes. Economic losses occur when larvae become contaminants of the fruit at harvest. Adult root weevils are a contaminant in fruit at harvest (9).

Twospotted spider mites can be problematic. Their feeding reduces the photosynthesis capability of the leaves, leading to reduced plant vigor and yield. Growers treat their fields only if mites are a problem early in the season. Specialists do not recommend treatment of infestations that occur after September 1 (9).

Chemical controls:
Raspberry growers applied 22,100 pounds of insecticide over 78% of the acres (10).

In 1997, Oregon growers reported use of the following insecticides (11):

Insecticide	Brand name	Area treated (%)	Number of applications	Pounds per acre per application	Pounds per acre per crop year	Total application (by 1,000 lb)
bifenthrin	Brigade*	22	1.0	0.09	0.09	0.1
B.t.	Javelin	22	1.0
diazinon	Diazinon	17	1.0	1.62	1.62	1.3
malathion	Cythion	28	1.1	1.87	2.10	2.8

*Section 18

Malathion and bifenthrin (Brigade) eliminate adult root weevils that could shake loose during machine harvest. Crops contaminated with insects can suffer losses as high as $1,400 per acre. Growers use Cryolite bait (Kryocide) to control these adult root weevils as they move between soil and foliage at night (9, 12).

For more details on insect control in Oregon raspberries, see the 1999 PNW Insect Control Handbook, pages 120–122. (Go to http://eesc.orst.edu/agcomwebfile/edmat/ for ordering information.)

Cultural controls:
Workers wait until leaves have fallen before tying the canes to trellises, eliminating protected areas for overwintering leafroller (9).

Biological controls:
Growers use Neoseiulus fallacis (Praxis) to control twospotted spider mites. They control adult root weevils and other insects with Beauveria bassiana (Mycotrol). B.t. helps control leafrollers (9).

Diseases

The major diseases in Oregon raspberries are Botrytis fruit rot, Phytophthora root rot, and yellow rust. Minor diseases include cane blight, spur blight, and Verticillium wilt (9).

In the spring of 1998, a sudden and widespread outbreak of yellow rust infected Willamette Valley raspberries. The rust infected cultivars that previously had been resistant. Warm, wet weather intensified the outbreak (14).

Chemical controls:
Growers used 54,900 pounds of fungicide on 92% of the raspberries (10).

Growers obtained an emergency exemption to apply propiconazole (Orbit) fungicide to help control the 1998 yellow rust outbreak (14).

In 1997, Oregon growers reported use of the following fungicides (11):

Fungicide	Brand name	Area treated (%)	Number of applications	Pounds per acre per application	Pounds per acre per crop year	Total application (by 1,000 lb)
benomyl	Benlate	17	1.6	0.34	0.54	0.4
calcium polysulfide	lime sulfur	67	1.1	11.27	12.56	39.5
captan	Captan	36	1.4	1.89	2.66	4.5
ferbam	Carbamate	22	1.0	1.32	1.32	1.4
fosetyl-al	Aliette	7	1.0	3.72	3.72	1.3
iprodione	Rovral	26	1.5	0.69	1.02	1.2
metalaxyl	Ridomil	68	1.1	1.03	1.17	3.8
vinclozolin	Ronilan	25	1.1	0.69	0.73	0.8

For more details on disease control in Oregon raspberries, see An Online Guide to Plant Disease Control, http://pnwhandbooks.orst.edu/guide1998/index.htm (15).

Alternatives:
Ferbam (Carbamate) treatment for yellow rust was only 20% as effective as propiconazole (Orbit) spray (14).

Cultural controls:
Specialists recommend several cultural control methods to control yellow rust (14):

Cultivate as soon as the weather permits in late fall or early spring to cover fallen leaves, old cane stubs, and refuse and thus eliminate infection sources
Remove and burn old fruiting canes as soon after harvest as possible by cutting them flush to the ground
Strip leaves from primocanes before tying
Trellis primocanes when the leaves are off.

These cultural controls are effective against fruit rot (9):

Weed control in plant rows to eliminate moist chambers
Early season cane burning and suppression of primocanes to eliminate moist chambers
Shorter harvest intervals to reduce the number of over-ripe fruit sources and Botrytis spores.

These cultural controls help control root rot (9):

Planting in raised beds
Creating raised beds in established plantings.

Post harvest:
Benomyl (Benlate) sprayed post-harvest prevents cane blight from entering canes damaged from mechanical harvesters. Ferbam (Carbamate) and propiconazole (Orbit) are used for post-harvest yellow rust control (9).

Nematodes

The dagger nematode is a virus vector and can damage raspberries at very low population levels. Another species, the root-lesion nematode, is migratory. The population resides in the soil and plant roots.

Chemical controls:
Growers fumigate soil with 1,3-dichloropropene (Telone), metam sodium (Vapam), or methyl bromide, which are all approved chemical controls. They can use fenamiphos (Nemacur) as a postplanting treatment for root-lesion nematodes, but it is ineffective against daggers (8).

For more details on nematode control in Oregon raspberries, see An Online Guide to Plant Disease Control, http://pnwhandbooks.orst.edu/guide1998/index.htm (15).

Cultural controls:
By planting only certified stock and planting in soil that is free of nematodes, berry growers can achieve some control (8).

Other

Oregon raspberry growers treated crops with 62,300 pounds of unspecified other chemicals. This represented treatment of 11% of the acres (10).

Weeds

Chemical controls:
Berry growers applied herbicides to 79% of the raspberries, using 8,700 pounds of chemicals (10).

In 1997, Oregon growers reported use of the following herbicides (11):

Herbicide	Brand name	Area treated (%)	Number of applications	Pounds per acre per application	Pounds per acre per crop year	Total application (by 1,000 lb)
diuron	Karmex	19	1.0	1.51	1.51	1.4
norflurazon	Solicam	8	1.0	1.43	1.43	0.5
oryzalin	Surflan	7	1.0	2.06	2.10	0.7
oxyfluorfen	Goal	18	1.0	0.08	0.08	0.1
paraquat	Gramoxone	51	1.1	0.49	0.53	1.3
sethoxydim	Poast	6	1.0	0.24	0.24	0.1
simazine	Princep	33	1.0	1.58	1.65	2.6

For more details on weed control in Oregon raspberries, see Blackberry and Raspberry Herbicides at http://www.orst.edu/dept/hort/weeds/blackberry.htm (13).

Contacts

Joe DeFrancesco
Entomology
Oregon State University
Corvallis, OR 97331
defrancj@bcc.orst.edu

Diane Kaufman
North Willamette Research & Extension Center
15210 NE Miley Road
Aurora, OR 97002
DianeKaufman@orst.edu

Jan Marie Schroeder
Oregon Raspberry and Blackberry Commission
712 NW 4^th Street
Corvallis, OR 97330-6415
berrywrk@peak.org

Bernadine Strik
Horticulture
Oregon State University
Corvallis, OR 97331
strikb@bcc.orst.edu

References

1. Crop Profile for Commodity in State. http://pestdata.ncsu.edu/CropProfiles/ instructions.html (accessed Feb 1999).

2. Black Raspberries, Washington County; Oregon State University Extension Service, Department of Agricultural & Resource Economics: Corvallis, OR, February 1979.

3. Commodity Data Sheet, Black Raspberries, 6115-97; Oregon State University Extension Service, Extension Economic Information Office: Corvallis, OR, February 1998.

4. Commodity Data Sheet, Red Raspberries, 6110-97; Oregon State University Extension Service, Extension Economic Information Office: Corvallis, OR, February 1998.

5 Markle, G. M.; Baron, J. J.; Schneider, B. A. Food and Feed Crops of the United States, Second Edition; Meister Publishing Co.: Willoughby, OH, 1998.

6. Oregon's rank in the nation's agriculture: 1996. http://www.oda.state.or.us/oass/ bul0697.htm (accessed Oct 1998).

7. Stebbins, R.L.; Walheim, L. Western Fruit, Berries & Nuts; HP Books, Inc.: Tucson, AZ, 1981.

8. Pacific Northwest Plant Disease Control Handbook; Extension Services of Oregon State University, Washington State University, and the University of Idaho: Corvallis, OR, 1998.

9. DeFrancesco, J. Department of Entomology, Oregon State University, Corvallis, OR. Personal communication, June 15, 1999.

10. 1997-1998 Oregon Agriculture & Fisheries Statistics; Oregon Agricultural Statistics Service, U. S. Department of Agriculture: Portland, OR, December 1998.

11. Agricultural Chemical Usage, 1997 Fruits Summary; Ag Ch 1(98); National Agricultural Statistics Service, U. S. Department of Agriculture: Washington, D.C., July 1998,

12. Gianessi, L. P. The Uses and Benefits of Organophosphate and Carbamate Insecticides in U.S. Crop Production (1997). http://ext.agn.uiuc.edu/piap/gianessi/ oppap02t.html (accessed June 1998), National Center for Food and Agricultural Policy, Washington, D.C.

13. Blackberry and Raspberry Herbicides, OSU, WSU, & UI Extensions Cooperating. http://www.orst.edu/dept/hort/weeds/beans.htm (accessed July1999).

14. Yellow rust outbreak on raspberries spurs exemption. http://eesc.orst.eud/ agcomwebfile/news/Fruitandnut/raspberryrust.html (accessed Feb 1999), News & Features, Oregon State University Extension & Experiment Station Communications.

15. An Online Guide to Plant Disease Control, Oregon State University Extension. http://pnwhandbooks.orst.edu/ guide1998/index.htm (accessed July 1999).

Acknowledgements:
This document was prepared by P. Thomson, W. Parrott, and J. Jenkins, Agricultural Chemistry Extension, Department of Environmental and Molecular Toxicology, Oregon State University. Information was reviewed by J. DeFrancesco, Department of Entomology, Oregon State University.

Database and web development by the NSF Center for Integrated Pest Managment located at North Carolina State University. All materials may be used freely with credit to the USDA.