Fruit Morphology and Fruit Strength in a Seedling Population of Red Raspberry

Abstract

Weight and morphological characteristics of red raspberry (Rubus idaeus L.) fruit, including drupelets (height, diameter, number), receptacle cavities (depth, diameter), and pits (individual weight), were measured on 78 seedlings from the cross `Chief' × `Chilliwack'. Fruit strength, as measured by compression, correlated with fruit weight, drupelet number, receptacle cavity depth, and individual pit weight. Fruit weight was positively correlated with all morphological characteristics. Individual pit weight, drupelet height, and drupelet number provided the largest component contributions to fruit strength as measured by path analysis.