Annotation

The purpose of the research was to conduct primary evaluation of the new blackberry varieties, and select the most suitable ones for cultivation in the conditions of Lviv region. The soil of the test plots is dark gray podzolic light-loamy, pH-6.5, humus content – 2.1 %, availability of alkaline hydrolyzed nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium - average. The land plot without irrigation. Six new blackberry varieties were planted on the experimental site in 2016: Thornfree, Natchez, Triple Crown, Heaven Can Wait (USA), Karaka Black (New Zealand) and Loch Tay (Scotland). Natchez, as a very vigorous variety, had a shoot length up to 4 m in the 2–3 year after planting, and the number of them in the bush was the smallest among the rest of varieties in test. Thornfree and Loch Tay had the average amount of shoots – 6.21–6.25 pcs. Karaka Black was the only variety with very thorny and creeping shoots, i.e. it had an average shoot quantity of 5.61 pcs. All other varieties were thornfree and belonged to varieties with erect shoots. The Triple Crown variety was moderately growing – the height of the shoots reached only 2.3 m and their number was 5.95 pcs. per plant. The Karaka Black was the earliest variety, which began to bear fruit in our test. On average, 7–10 days later, Natchez and Loch Tay began to bear fruit. In the third decade of July, the Heaven Can Wait and Thornfree varieties began to bear fruit. The Triple Crown variety – was the latest and fruiting starts just on August 21. Records of the damage to the berries caused by fruit rot showed that the Karaka Black and Natchez had a minimal number of affected berries. Thornfree, Triple Crown and Heaven Can Wait were significantly more affected by the fruit rot – it symptoms appeared massively after each rainfall period. The top variety by fruit size in our test was the Karaka Black – 8.2 g. Berries of the Natchez variety were slightly smaller in size, but also quite large, i.e. 7.8 g. The highest yields were shown by Heaven Can Wait, particularly 9.15 kg/bush, Triple Crown – 8.55 kg/bush, and Loch Tay – 8.17 kg/bush. The Karaka Black and Thornfree varieties were less productive – 7.54 and 7.7 kg/bush. The smallest crop was produced by Natchez – 5.95 kg/bush. In the further production testing, it is suggested to plant the new varieties of Heaven Can Wait, Karaka Black and Natchez in new plantings in order to obtain berries for fresh market consumption.