Origin: near Beaverlodge, Alberta (55°N), by W.D. Albright; wild plant discovered on the Beaverlodge Research Station (in the Smoky River drainage basin), transplanted in 1918; tested as Selection no. 9 (1928), and B.E.F. 3502 (1935), reselected 1950. Introd. in 1952 by J.A. Wallace, Agriculture Canada, Beaverlodge, Alberta. Fruit up to 14 mm diam., spherical, blueblack with bloom; typically 7-11 per cluster, uneven ripening; good, mild flavor, sweetest cultivar with highest sugar/acid ratio so far; pH 4.1-4.5; large and many seeds. Shrub to 4.5 m high; initially upright to arching-spreading, 6 m spread at maturity; freely suckering near crown, crown expands indefinitely; crown long-lived, 70+ years. Hardy to zone l. Most productive commercial cultivar so far, yielding up to 6,000 kg/ha. The cultivar that enabled commercial production to start in the prairies; in 1990 it occupied about 85% of the hectarage in Canada. Currently being evaluated in a comprehensive cultivar trial. Tree: Fruit:
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