MT VERNON, Mo. — A blackberry workshop for growers and hobbyists will be this Wednesday, June 21, from 1 to 4 pm at the Southwest Research Center just west of Mt Vernon. Led by University of Missouri horticulturist Patrick Byers, the workshop will focus on blackberry production, blackberry harvest, spotted wing drosophila management and RCA trellis management. The workshop will be translated for Hmong farmers in attendance.
There is a $10 fee per person which may be paid at the door. Reservations are not required.
The workshop will include on-site training at the blackberry demonstration plot established at the Center by the Webb City Farmers Market in collaboration with University of Missouri Extension and the Center and funded by the Missouri Department of Agriculture Specialty Crops grant.
The plot uses an innovative shift trellis known as a rotating cross arm trellis designed to reduce winter kill, as well as make harvest easier and protect berries from sun scald. New varieties with resistance to winter kill are in their second year of planting. Winter kill can be a major factor in substantially reduced crops in southwest Missouri. (above – Byers demonstrates the RCA trellis at the April, 2017 workshop)
Additional workshops at the Research Center are:
July 26 – Transition of primocanes to the RCA trellis and blackberry insect and disease management, and
November 15 – Fall/winter management of the RCA trellis and economics of blackberry production.
The Research Center is located at 15658 State Road H, Mt Vernon, MO.
For more information regarding registration, contact the Webb City Farmers Market by telephone at (417) 483-8139 or email at eileennichols@sbcglobal.net.
— Webb City Farmers Market
For more news from Missouri, click here.