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Small Fruit Resources
| General Resources | Newsletter Links | Strawberry Factsheets | Raspberry and Blackberry Factsheets |
Blueberry Factsheets | Currant and Gooseberry Factsheets |
Introduction - Small fruits comprise a diverse group of plants producing small, pulpy, edible, round shaped fruit, commonly known as "berries", regardless of their underlying botanical structure. In recent years, small fruits, which are highly prized for their various shapes, flavors, textures and colors, have been show to be of increasing nutritional value in terms of their antioxidant and other beneficial properties. Many fruit growers have begun to diversify their fruit production operations by adding small fruits, either for fresh fruit, processing, or U-pick markets. This has created a need for current information on small fruit disease management. The principal small fruits covered by in this section of the website are strawberries (Fragaria), raspberries and blackberries and their allies (Rubus spp.), blueberries and cranberries (Vaccinium spp.), currants and gooseberries (Ribes spp.) and elderberries (Sambucus spp.). Fact sheets for each crop detail specific disease problems for the crop, and include information on disease identification, prevention and control using an integrated approach to disease management.
Cornell Resources
 The New York Berry News online newsletter that aspires to provide a statewide perspective on the production of berry crops in New York. The NYBN is presented in PDF format and requires Adobe Acrobat Reader for viewing.
 The Cornell Fruit Information Page is a cooperative effort between extension faculty, IPM educators, horticulturists, entomologists, pathologists, economists, and engineers at both the NY Agricultural Experiment Station in Geneva and academic departments in Ithaca. This site provides a wealth of, or access to, an abundance of small fruit information. Some exceptional resources found on this site are the Berry Diagnostic Tool, The Cornell Minor Fruits Page and a comprehensive listing of nurseries.
 The 2005 Berry Crop Pest Management Guidelines is now online. To order hard copies contact: The Resource Center, Cornell University, PO Box 3884, Ithaca NY, 14852-3884 or call (607) 255-2080 or E-mail: resctr@cornell.edu. Or download a free copy.
General Resources
- The Cornell Fruit Information Page is a cooperative effort between
extension faculty, IPM educators, horticulturists, entomologists, pathologists, economists, and engineers
at both the NY Agricultural Experiment Station in Geneva and academic departments in Ithaca. This
site provides a wealth of, or access to, an abundance of small fruit information. Some exceptional resources found on this site are the Berry Diagnostic
Tool, The Cornell Minor Fruits Page and a comprehensive listing of nurseries selling berries.
- Michigan State University Extension (Van Buren County)
has created an excellent resource of information for the production of small fruit and management of associated disease and insect pests. This site is
particularly good resource for blueberry production.
- Midwest Small Fruit and Grape Net is the source for
information on management, commercial production, harvesting, and marketing of strawberries, raspberries, blackberries, highbush blueberries, and grapes in the Midwest. You can also gain access to the Midwest Small Fruit Pest Management Handbook, as well as to Ohioline where you can find a number of "bulletins" and "fact sheets" related to berry production.
- Ontario Ministry of Agriculture and Food has produced an extensive set of "fact sheets, infosheets, and publications" for a
number of crops. Follow the "Berries" link to an excellent resource directed for berry production in the Northeast.
- Pennsylvania State Guide to Small-Scale Fruit Production is a
comprehensive resource developed for people who wish to produce fruit on a small scale (on one acre or less) and who are not legally licensed to use pesticides. Bramble, strawberry, blueberry, gooseberry,
currant, and elderberry production are covered in-depth in this manual.
- Agricultural Alternatives. Unlike publications for experienced producers, the Agricultural Alternatives fact sheets are developed for those less familiar with
production agriculture. Each fact sheet contains information on marketing, production, enterprise budgeting, and resource requirements for a variety of crops (including berry crops) to help users make
a balanced evaluation of the enterprise for their operation.
- The Northwest Berry & Grape Information Center is one of the most
comprehensive information and communications resource for berry and grape production practices, research, and marketing. The website is produced by Oregon State University, Washington State
University, the University of Idaho, and the USDA Agricultural Research Service. This site features regional and international e-mail discussion groups and on-line discussion forums focused on fruit
growing. The primary intended audience is commercial growers, marketers, crop consultants, pest management advisors, educators, and researchers in the Pacific Northwest.
- The New Jersey Blueberry and Cranberry Research and Extension Center is a substation of the New Jersey Agricultural Experiment Station of
Rutgers University. The Center generates and disseminates research information directly applicable to the production of high-quality blueberries and cranberries and develops new cultivars for industry.
- Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Station Plant Pest Handbook is a comprehensive, searchable online
manual of plant diseases and insect pests.
- University of Wisconsin's Cooperative Extension publication
listing is fairly extensive. If you look under "horticulture" and then "berries" you will find several online
publication dealing with strawberry, elderberry, currant and gooseberry horticulture and pest
management. Many of these can be reached through Dr. Patricia McManus' fruit pathology web page
as well.
- University of Florida's Strawberry Lab is a particularly good website
for strawberry pathology thanks to Dan Legard and Jim Mertley.
- University of California Fruit and Nut Research and Information Center consists of all University of California (UC) personnel with work related
to the production of fruit and nut crops. UC has faculty from several departments at three universities (Davis, Riverside, and Berkeley) conducting research related to the environmental and economic
sustainability of California fruit and nut crops. Although geared towards CA, it is a worthwhile site to become familiar with.
- Southern Region Small Fruit Consortium deals primarily with fruit
production in the Southeast. The consortium involves Clemson University, the University of Georgia, North Carolina State University, and the University of Tennessee and was initially established as the
Southeastern Small Fruit Center in January 1999. In March 2000, the name was changed to the Southern Region Small Fruit Consortium.
- Northumberland Berry Works is an experimental planting of gooseberries
and currants to ascertain the characteristics of cultivars and to evaluate the suitability of growing them in the Central Pennsylvania locale. At present there are approximately 80 cultivars of gooseberries and
40 cultivars of currants in the planting. Various cultural practices and modalities are evaluated. This project has been going on for the past ten years and some data is available for cultivars that have been
evaluated for several years.
- Wild Blueberries focuses on the North America native lowbush Wild Blueberry, or Vaccinium angustifolium. Lowbush blueberry thrives in the glacial soils and northern
climate of coastal fields and barrens of Maine and Eastern Canada so they are not grown commercially
throughout most of the Northeast. However, this is a well-done site and is worth a visit.
- The Small Fruits of New York: Historical Images was the
seventh and last in a series of fruit monographs published by the NY Ag Exp Station. This reference was completed by U. P. Hedrick in 1925 and has become a classic reference for those working with
cultivated varieties of Rubus,Ribes and Fragaria.
Newsletters
Strawberry Factsheets
Raspberry and Blackberry Factsheets
Blueberry Factsheets
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WVU |
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OrST |
UCD |
| Alternaria Fruit Rot |
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| Anthracnose (Ripe Rot) |
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| Bacterial Canker |
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| Botryosphaeria Stem Canker |
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| Botrytis Blight |
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| Crown Gall |
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| Fusicoccum Canker |
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| Mummyberry |
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| Nematode, Dagger |
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| Nematode, Root Lesion |
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| Phomopsis Twig Blight |
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| Phytophthora Root Rot |
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| Scorch |
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| Shock |
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| Virus Diseases |
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Currant and Gooseberry Factsheets
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OrST |
UCD |
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| Powdery Mildew |
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| White Pine Blister Rust |
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