Growers desire more techniques to control weeds in horticultural crops that are grown organically and consumed directly, such as red raspberry. Abrasive grit emited via high air pressure is a new method for controlling weeds. Grit derived from corn cobs was examined for its efficacy during the year of raspberry establishment for 2 to 3 years at three sites (seven site-years) and compared with efficacy of hand-weeding as well as no weed control. Grit was applied once or twice weekly after raspberry transplantation in spring until weed emergence ceased in mid to late July. Weeds and raspberry growth were assessed in August. Grit was effective in controlling broadleaf weeds, averaging 94% control across site-years, but control of grass weeds was less than 10%. Total weed (broadleaf plus grass) control across site-years ranged from 51% to 96% and averaged 78%. Raspberry cane growth was affected by weeds, and grit-weeding at least partially alleviated these effects. Thus, abrasive grit allows growers to manage broadleaf weeds effectively without herbicides or soil tillage. However, additional research is needed to determine the correct amounts and timing of grit applications, as well as more efficacious types of grit, to control grass weeds.

The N.I. Vavilov Institute of Plant Industry (VIR) holds and maintains collections of various crop plants among the largest and oldest worldwide. Among them, small berry trees have gained attention because of their potential for human health. Small berries, usually containing various valuable compounds such as vitamins or antioxidants in significant quantities, could be used for easily improving the human diet. Subsets of VIR collections of raspberry (Rubus idaeus L.) and blue honeysuckle (Lonicera caerulea L.) were investigated for genetic diversity. Ninety-five raspberry accessions were genotyped with eight nuclear simple-sequence repeat (microsatellite) markers. Results indicated a fair level of genetic diversity, but also a structure of three main groups in the collection. Blue honeysuckle accessions were genotyped with five intersimple-sequence repeat markers, yielding more than 1100 polymorphic fragments across the 194 accessions. Statistical analysis of these data showed that the subspecies level was key in explaining blue honeysuckle diversity. This study shows that the collections constitute important resources that could be used for either direct consumption goals or breeding of new cultivars. Results may also be used to establish recommendations for efficient conservation of these genetic resources.