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Parentage
Metolius originates from the US Department of
Agriculture-Agricultural Research Service (USDA-ARS) breeding
programme in Corvallis, Oregon, and has been released in cooperation
with the Oregon State University Agricultural Experiment Station and
the Washington State University. Metolius was selected by Dr Chad
Finn from a cross between Douglass X Kotata, and was tested as ORUS
1452-1.
Fruit Quality
The fruit of Metolius are attractive, very uniformly conical shaped,
very glossy and have an excellent black colour. Fruit have excellent
firmness, being firmer than Marion and Obsidian and similar to
Siskiyou. When harvested at the full-black stage Metolius has a very
good, pleasant, sweet flavour. Good processed fruit quality.
Yield and Fruit Size
Metolius produces comparable yields to Black Diamond and Marion, but
lower than Obsidian. Fruit are uniformly medium sized, being smaller
than Obsidian and Siskiyou, and averaged 5.6g in trials in the USA.
Season
Together with Obsidian, Metolius is the earliest ripening blackberry
variety in the Pacific Northwest. The 50% pick date is some 4-5 days
ahead of Siskiyou, 7 days before Marion and 2.5 weeks before Waldo.
Plant Characteristics
Plants of Metolius have a trailing habit, the canes are very spiny,
comparable to Silvan, and less vigorous than Marion or Obsidian.
Fruit are well displayed and easy to pick.
Disease Resistance
Metolius has been free of serious cane, leaf of fruit diseases in
the USA. The variety has not shown to be particularly susceptible to
Septoria leaf spot, purple blotch, cane and leaf rust.
Use of the Variety
Metolius has excellent potential as early season variety for the
fresh market. Compared to Obsidian, the fruit of Metolius appear to
have superior firmness and greater uniformity, whereas Obsidian is
higher yielding and produces larger fruit. While it also produces an
excellent processed product, its thorniness will inhibit its uptake
for machine-harvested, processed markets. Metolius is expected to
perform well in countries where trailing blackberries grow
successfully, including Chile, New Zealand, UK, and the
Mediterranean region.
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