Breaking Dormancy in Red Raspberries for Greenhouse Production

Abstract

Experiments were conducted to determine the chilling temperature and length of time required to break dormancy in red raspberry (Rubus idaeus L.). Five weeks of 7 °C with no light was sufficient to break dormancy in `Autumn Britten', `Nova', `Polana', and `Tulameen', while at least 8 weeks were needed for `Titan'. Comparisons with various chilling unit models allowed a model to be developed that could account for the observed chilling variation. In this model, each chilling hour was weighted as follows: below 5.6 °C = 1; 5.7 to 8.0 °C = 0.5; 8.1 to 11 °C = 0; 11.1 to 13 °C = -0.5; and >13 °C = -1. Plants of `Nova' and `Tulameen' chilled before flower initiation occurred, broke dormancy, and the resulting lateral branches remained vegetative. When the plants were fruited in the greenhouse, we were able to produce a second crop on the fruiting canes when the lateral branches that had fruited were removed. These experiments show that raspberries can be manipulated so that plants chilled in mid-September in the Northern Hemisphere can be induced to fruit by the beginning of January.