Cornell University in the U.S. has launched two new disease resistant rapsberry varieties to be targeted at small growers.

Double Gold produces deep blushed conical berries twice a year and Crimson Night is a high yielding cultivar with compact dark shiny fruit.

The university's associate professor of horticulture Courtney Weber, said the new cultivars were different from typical supermarket varieties.

"If consumers get a taste of these, they will buy them. The berries are medium large with excellent flavor."

Double Gold produces two harvests, with the first in autumn and the second further down the canes the following summer.

Weber said the cultivar has been tested for more than eight years and has proved to be consistently vigorous and disease resistant.

"Specifically, we have observed it to be resistant to Phytophthora root rot as well as most of the common leaf diseases," he said.

Weber described Crimson Night as vigorous and productive, especially if protected by the elements and grown in a commercial high-tunnel system.

Both varieties have been licensed to propagator North American Plants LLC., to sell to nurseries and growers across the United States and plant patents will be filed later this year.

North American Plants expects to have enough plants to meet the anticipated demand of each variety by the spring of 2013.

Double Gold and Crimson Night are the fourth and fifth new berry varieties introduced by Weber in the last year.

Recent releases include Purple Wonder, the darkest strawberry variety; the Herriot strawberry, a high-yielding midseason variety; and the Crimson Giant raspberry, suitable for high tunnel cropping systems with a November harvest.

Related stories: Cornell University launches new strawberry

www.freshfruitportal.com