Increasing the diversity of marketable raspberries
Raspberries are the third most popular berry in the United States. Their popularity is growing as a specialty crop for the wholesale industry and in smaller, local markets, and U-pick operations. As consumer interest in the health benefits of colorful foods increases, small growers are capitalizing on novelty fruit and vegetable crops such as different-colored raspberries. Authors of a newly published study say that increasing the diversity of raspberry colors in the market will benefit both consumers and producers. "Producers will need to know how fruit of the other color groups compare with red raspberries with regard to the many postharvest qualities," noted the University of Maryland's Julia Harshman, corresponding author of the study published in HortScience (March 2014).