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Raspberry Problem #871843

Asked June 06, 2024, 8:32 AM EDT

I have a raspberry patch that I've been cultivating for four years. The patch started with volunteer wild raspberry canes and I've let it expand as it likes. Last year's crop was about ten pounds but I had a many fruits that didn't ripen properly. This year the problem is much worse. Nearly all the berries have unripened, damaged drupelets. I have attached photos showing a particularly bad group of berries, along with a photo showing two good berries. Both photos are of berries on the same cane, so hopefully it's not systemic?. I don't see pictures on the internet of anything like this. I'm throwing out probably half the berries, and the ones I do harvest aren't pretty. Can you tell me what this is?

Delaware County Ohio

Expert Response

Hi Rex,

I wonder if this is botrytis, which is a fungal disease. Fungicide sprays would have done quite bit good. All the rain in spring caused fungal diseases to go crazy.

Pruning helps too. Primocanes need to tipped whet they reach about 3 to 3.5 feet tall in summer. Laterals need to be shortened to one to two feet in March.

Here is a fact sheet from UMN: https://apps.extension.umn.edu/garden/diagnose/plant/fruit/raspberry/flowersblack.html

Sometimes, winter injuries on canes can cause flowers and developing fruits to shrivel.

Hope this helps.
Gary Gao, Ph.D. Replied June 06, 2024, 6:21 PM EDT

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