Narrative
The U.S. Department of Agriculture-Agricultural Research Service, the Oregon Agricultural Experiment Station and the Washington Agricultural Research Center announce the release of an outstanding flavored, primocane fruiting red raspberry for the fresh market. VINTAGE, tested as ORUS 2786-5, was selected in Corvallis, Oregon in 2003 from a population grown from open pollinated seed of `Isabel' red raspberry. 'Isabel' is a patented cultivar (PP9,340) developed by Sweetbriar Development, Inc. (Watsonville, CA) that has proprietary selections as parents. VINTAGE is being released primarily due to its outstanding fresh fruit quality, especially flavor and bright color, in a primocane fruiting red raspberry that is suited for the fresh market.
VINTAGE has been evaluated most extensively in trials at Oregon State University's North Willamette Research and Extension Center (Aurora, Ore.; OSU-NWREC) and in USDA-ARS plots in Corvallis, Ore. VINTAGE plants are similarly vigorous to 'Heritage' but the canes tend to be not as stiffly erect or as tall. The canes have prickles that are denser basipetally and tend to be slightly less prickly than `Heritage'. The canes have shown no serious cane diseases.
VINTAGE ripens ahead of `Heritage' but later than `Autumn Bliss', `Chinook', and 'Rafzaqu' ('HimboTop' (R) ). The average harvest date of 5% ripe fruit is around 23-25 August, of 50% ripe fruit is 9-18 September, and of 95% ripe fruit is 7-8 October in the Willamette Valley of Oregon. VINTAGE has yields that are comparable to `Heritage', being slightly less in one trial and slightly greater in another. VINTAGE has consistently produced yields around 1.2-1.9 kg/plant.
VINTAGE fruit are similar in shape to `Heritage' but they are slightly less conical and more rounded. The fruit is attractive, with uniformly sized, shaped, and arranged drupelets. While the fruit are rated as very good for drupelet coherence, they may not hold together as tightly as `Heritage' but they have a comparable firmness. The fruit separate more easily from the plant than those of 'Heritage'. The fruit are medium size (3.2-3.4g) and 20-35% larger than `Heritage'. One of the most outstanding characteristics of VINTAGE is its bright red, attractive color, much brighter and less dark than the fruit of `Heritage'. VINTAGE fresh fruit are very sweet and rate as excellent for flavor, much better than those of `Heritage'.
VINTAGE fruit have a combination of excellent sweetness (soluble solids 12.4-12.8%), moderate pH (3.41-3.45) and a moderate titratable acidity (11.5-11.9) helping to give the fruit a sweet flavor but the lower titratable acidity may prevent it from being a good processing berry. In general the soluble solids and pH are higher than those of `Heritage' and the titratable acidity almost half of those for `Heritage' fruit. The fruit texture when the fruit are eaten is more pleasant, less dry and seedy, than those of `Heritage'.
VINTAGE is introduced as a very sweet, outstanding flavored, bright red, and large primocane fruiting red raspberry with excellent overall quality for the fresh market and yields comparable to current industry standards. VINTAGE should be adapted wherever other primocane fruiting raspberries can be successfully grown.