March 2019 - 22

By Dean Peterson
FGN Correspondent
loosely clipped to the outside of the
four trellis wires.
For winter protection from cold
The old standard two-wire trellis has
been replaced on most commercial
blackberry farms in Kentucky by newer
systems. One of the latest is the swing
arm trellis at Eckert's Boyd Orchard
at Versailles, Kentucky. The nine-wire
system is a large V with primocanes
trained on one side and floricanes
trained on the other.
The swing arm trellis system was
developed at Eckert's Orchards at
Belleville, Illinois, and was brought to
Kentucky with the addition of the Eckert's
Boyd Orchard at Versailles. Eckert's is a
long-established, fruit-growing family
based at Belleville.
Trellises do a lot for blackberries.
SWING ARM
TRELLIS
Blackberries' use separates
fruiting, vegetative walls
Lyle Allen, Eckert's Boyd Orchard farm manager at Versailles, Kentucky. Photos: Dean
Peterson
They provide essential support -
especially for the vigorous, semi-erect
varieties where tip rooting is such an
issue. They also control plant size,
height, cane spread and productivity,
and make pruning and weeding easier.
Most importantly, they increase
harvest efficiency and make picking
more enjoyable for U-pick operations.
The primocane trellis arms are
positioned at an angle of roughly 70
degrees from horizontal. A primocane
from each plant is trained up from the
ground and then horizontally in one
direction along the lowest trellis wire.
Lateral canes spaced about every six
inches are trained up vertically and
winds, the trellis is tilted outward so
that it is close to horizontal with the
ground. In the spring the trellis arm
is rotated up past vertical to the other
side of the trellis and the flowering
shoots grow upward toward the sun.
This positions the floricane side to get
the most sunlight for the most growth
and to encourage blossoming.
" Blossoms form in the sun, " said
Lyle Allen, Eckert's Boyd Orchard
farm manager.
When about 70 percent of the
floricanes are blooming, the trellis
arm is rotated back to the other side
of the trellis at the 70-degree angle.
This keeps the vegetative growth in
the most sunlight, but lets the berries
develop in the shade.
" It gives us a fruiting wall and a
vegetative wall, " Allen said. " Berries
grown in the shade have better quality. "
There are also more marketable
berries produced when grown in the
shade. Allen estimates the system
produces about 30 percent more yield.
Harvesting is easier too, because
pickers can see the berries better and
the berries are easier to reach.
While the blackberries are blooming
and developing, the new primocanes
are trained on the opposite side of the
trellis for next year's crop.
The floricane side of each trellis is
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March 2019

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of March 2019
