Thornless trailing blackberry with high quality processed fruit that are very small and can be mechanically harvested. Origin: USDA-ARS, Corvallis, OR, by C.E. Finn, B.C. Strik, B.M. Yorgey, M. Qian, R.R. Martin, and M. Peterson. GP 9-24 (wild selection of Rubus ursinus from Mount Hebo, OR) × Waldo; crossed 1996; selected 1998; tested as ORUS 1843-3, introd. 2009. Tree: trailing; thornless (Austin Thornless source); vigorous; thin canes that grow early in the season are brittle if not trained as they grow or trained early; hermaphroditic (maternal parent is dioecious); good yields comparable to Marion if canes treated gently; harvests easily by machine; ploidy, 2n=8x=56 as estimated by flow cytometry; not particularly susceptible to septoria leaf spot or purple blotch; no vegetative or fruit symptoms of cane or leaf rust; winter hardiness not well tested but appears to survive cold winter temperatures at least as well as Marion. Fruit: very black; very small, 2-3 g; uniform conic, much more uniform than Marion; very attractive; glossy; firm, comparable to Siskiyou; excellent texture comparable to Marion; lower SS and higher titratable acidity than Marion; flavor rated comparable to Marion and better than Chester Thornless; overall outstanding processing characteristics; ripens with Marion in midseason.
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