Long cane raspberry production is an increasingly effective system used in several U.S. states, Canadian provinces, and parts of Mexico. Its popularity is growing, particularly in the eastern United States, due to its ability to mitigate challenges such as poor soil drainage, excessive rainfall and wind, and unpredictable weather conditions—all of which can negatively impact plant growth, yield, harvest efficiency, and fruit quality.
In this system, “ready-made” raspberry canes are purchased from nurseries and planted in containers filled with coco coir media. These containers are placed in high tunnels or under umbrella structures and are fertigated (fertilized and irrigated) to optimize production, with potential yields reaching 22,000–25,000 pounds per acre. An added advantage of this system is the flexibility it provides to stagger planting times, allowing growers to extend the harvest season. Additionally, the protected environment of high tunnels or umbrellas enables harvesting even during rainy weather, improving fruit quality and operational efficiency.
What Is the Long Cane Raspberry Production System?
The long cane raspberry production system is a new method in the eastern half of the United States (Rayburn et. al., 2024). In this system, small raspberry plants are grown to about 6 feet tall in protected environments such as greenhouses, high tunnels, or shorter tunnels called “raspberry umbrellas.” The long canes on these raspberry plants are pruned to around 5 feet 10 inches in autumn. Their leaves either drop naturally or are manually removed before the plants are placed into cold storage at 29–30 degrees Fahrenheit. The following year, the dormant plants are sold and shipped to growers based on their preferred planting schedules, allowing for fruit production in the spring, summer, or fall of the same year.
Both yield and fruit quality can be affected by the pullout dates since raspberry plants prefer cooler weather with daytime temperatures in the 70s. For example, higher yields and better fruit quality can be expected in Ohio when plants are placed in the high tunnel in April instead of May. However, it may not make sense to pull out the plants too early because Ohio’s low March temperatures can cause fertilizer solutions to freeze thus damaging the fertilization and irrigation system. Earlier fruit harvests may also help growers charge higher prices. More details are provided in the other fact sheets of this series.
What Is the Yield Potential of Long Cane Raspberry Production?
The long cane raspberry production system has a yield potential of approximately 22,000–25,000 pounds per acre (Plaskett et al., 2023), based on a planting density of approximately 8,900 canes per acre. This approach involves using “ready-made” raspberry plants with fruiting canes grown in soilless media within protected environments, such as high tunnels, greenhouses, or even beneath solar panels, to produce fruit during the summer. This innovative system offers a solution to challenges like poor soil drainage, which hinders new cane development, and fluctuating spring temperatures that can damage floricanes. Long cane production is quite widely used in Europe and North America.
Why Should a Grower Consider the Long Cane Raspberry Production System?
More consistent production and higher yields, bigger and better tasting berries, less dependence on good soil drainage and favorable weather conditions, and season extension are some of the main benefits of long cane raspberry production. In Ohio, poor soil drainage and fluctuating temperatures frequently decrease fruit yields due to floricane damage. Fruit production in controlled environments mitigates risk from variable weather patterns, extends the harvest season, and can improve labor-use efficiency.
What Kind of Structures Should I Grow Long Cane Raspberries In?
Greenhouses, high tunnels, and umbrellas are all viable types of protective structures, each with its own advantages and drawbacks. Umbrellas are the least expensive option and can be quite effective. High tunnels also perform well and offer a balance between cost and protection. Greenhouses, while the most expensive to build and operate, can be highly effective for long cane raspberry production. Various high tunnels can be constructed and used for long cane raspberry production.
The details on the construction and set up of high tunnels and umbrellas can be found in a long cane production guide (Plaskett et al., 2023). High tunnels need to be at least 12 feet tall to accommodate the heights of the raspberry plants. We copied the design of the raspberry umbrellas used at Onésime Pouliot in Quebec, Canada because these umbrellas are less expensive than typical high tunnels. The owner at Onésime Pouliot in Quebec, Canada anticipated a 20-year lifespan for these structures. Plastic film may be replaced every few years depending on the quality, care, and weather conditions in your area. Protective structures like high tunnels and umbrellas are absolutely essential for ensuring excellent plant growth, high yields, and fruit quality.
What Kinds of Containers or Pots Should Be Used?
Seven-liter square pots are the common size for growing long cane raspberry plants for fruit production. These pots are specialized with legs on the bottom for better water drainage. Our pots were purchased from CropKing (cropking.com) which sourced from HortAmericas (hortamericas.com). It is important to plan ahead since these pots have to be ordered well ahead of the planting time.
What Substrates or Media Should Growers Use?
The media used in our study was Cyco Coco Pearl, which contained washed coco coir with 30% perlite. It was pre-buffered, and pH stabilized. The media has good drainage, and the plants grew quite healthy with no noticeable nutrient deficiencies or root-rot issues. It is hard to know if this was the perfect medium since we did not compare different substrates. It is possible for growers to mix, wash, and buffer their own media. We chose not to introduce this variable. A group of researchers at North Carolina State University has been testing pine bark as an alternative substrate since it is a local byproduct of the paper industry. It will be interesting to see if their mixes are a good replacement for coco coir.
How Do Growers Provide Fertilizer and Water to the Plants?
Fertilizer and water are delivered through two injectors. Three 32-gallon garbage cans can be used to hold two stock fertilizer solutions and one acid solution if needed. The first injector and garbage can are for a complete fertilizer. We used Peter’sTM 5-11-26 in our trial. The second injector and garbage can are used for calcium nitrate. Both fertilizers are greenhouse-grade and easily soluble. The third injector was designed for a sulfuric acid injection because our irrigation water has high pH and high-alkalinity.
Fertilizers with sulfuric acid and water were delivered through injectors, irrigation tubes, and emitters. Plants are typically fertigated 12–15 times a day. The fertigation rate is monitored though the measurements of electrical conductivity (EC) of fertilization solutions before and after they enter the pots. For more details on EC measurements, fertilizer types, and fertigation rates, refer to the fact sheet on irrigation and fertilization in this series.
What Are the Potential Challenges with the Long Cane Raspberry Production System?
High costs of emitters, fertilizers, high tunnels or umbrellas, injectors, irrigation tubes, media, plants and their associated shipping, pots, and other supplies are major challenges. A steep learning curve is another challenge since this system is challenging to master.
Deer, racoons, spotted wing drosophilla, the two-spotted spider mite, botrytis fruit rot, and phytophthora root rot are some of the biotic problems typically encountered in the long cane raspberry system. High winds, high or low air temperatures, low humidity, and excessive UV radiation in sunlight are some of the abiotic stress factors.
Integrated Pest Management Considerations
Remove wild brambles nearby to reduce refuge sites for insects and diseases. The use of appropriate biological controls such as predatory mites can help with management of the two-spotted spider mite and other small pests. Fine-mesh exclusion netting can be used to reduce the amount of spotted wing drosophila laying eggs within berries. Removing weedy Asian bush honeysuckle may also reduce the volume of spotted wing drosophila around your berry operation (Leach et. al., 2018). Products containing pyrethrin, bifenthrin, spinosad, and other options are available for controlling general pests including Japanese beetles. If beneficial insects are present, care should be taken in selecting products that pose minimal risk to beneficials and off-target species. Kaolin clay may be another option for creating a clay barrier around leaves and fruit to prevent insect feeding. However, kaolin can be difficult to wash off delicate berries. Growers can get more information on available pesticides and pest treatments in the Midwest Fruit Pest Management Guide (ag.purdue.edu/department/hla/extension/_docs/id-465.pdf).
Where Can I Get More Information on Long Cane Production?
This fact sheet is the first one in the Long Cane Raspberry Production Series. Refer to the additional fact sheets in this series for more details on containers and substrates, irrigation and fertilization, pest and disease management, and raspberry umbrella construction and set up for long cane raspberry production.
Acknowledgments
We would like to thank Dr. Logan Minter, field specialist, OSU South Centers, CFAES, The Ohio State University for his technical assistance with this project. My sincere appreciation also goes to Dr. Pengfei Wen, professor and associate dean, Horticulture College, Shanxi Agricultural University, China for his valuable suggestions and technical help. I thank Ms. Lane Song, associate professor, Shanxi Agricultural University, China for helping with plot maintenance.
This publication was financed through a grant from the Ohio Department of Agriculture, the State of Ohio, and the United States Department of Agriculture under the provisions of the Specialty Crop Block Grant. This project, “Expanding raspberry production options for acreage expansion, long-term sustainability, risk mitigation, and season extension,” was supported by the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Agricultural Marketing Service through grant 23SCBPOHI204. Its contents are solely the responsibility of the authors and do not necessarily represent the official views of the USDA.
Additional Resources
Download a PDF of this fact sheet.
IPM Guidelines for Raspberry
(umass.edu/agriculture-food-environment/integrated-pest-management/resources/integrated-pest-management-ipm/ipm-by-commodity/small-fruit/ipm-guidelines-for-raspberry)
References
Leach, H., Hagler, J. R., Machtley, S. A., & Isaacs, R. (2019). Spotted wing drosophila (Drosophila suzukii) utilization and dispersal from the wild host Asian bush honeysuckle (Lonicera spp.). Agricultural and Forest Entomology, 21(2), 149–158.
DOI:10.1111/afe.12315
Plaskett, T., Murray, S., & Dort, A. (2023). Long cane raspberry production guide. Perennia.
perennia.ca/longcaneraspberryguide
Rayburn, L., Jackson, B. E., Mays, J., Hewitt, J., & Fernandez, G. (2024). Pine bark as an alternative to coco coir for substrate production of long-cane raspberry in southeastern USA. Acta Hortic, 1388, 141–144.
ishs.org/ishs-article/1388_21