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Rutgers New Varieties
Which variety should I select?
If color is a priority, Demoranville®, Crimson Queen®, or Haines™ would be the best choice. Demoranville® is the earliest variety. Crimson Queen® is slightly later, while Haines™ possesses uniform color by mid-season.
All three of these varieties have demonstrated yields well beyond 600 barrels/acre. Haines™ has exhibited especially superior quality mid-season, making it a good choice for fresh fruit.
For early fresh fruit, Scarlet Knight® has demonstrated early color and excellent quality. However, its yields are only slightly better than Stevens in replicated field plots.
For mid-to-late season harvesting, Mullica Queen® is slightly earlier than Stevens, with slightly better mid-season TAcys. Mullica Queen® has a diverse genetic background with impressive production. This variety has exhibited some of the highest yields yet recorded; over 800 barrels/acre in replicated field plots.
Welker™ is especially suited for cooler climates of the Pacific Northwest, where it has exhibited impressive production despite very cool growing seasons.
All Rutgers Varieties have been tested over many years, in replicated field plots, in multiple growing regions, before they were released for commercial production.
What is the cost of buying stolons?
Please Contact Us for pricing.
Why Mowings and Prunings Cannot Be Used For Rooted Cutting Propagation
Why should I use rooted cuttings to establish a new bed when pressing vines is much easier?
The cost of foundation-level virus-indexed plant material is about the same or less than non-certified mowings.
Sacrificing your own crop to produce large volumes of vines for a new planting may not be economical, due to the high productivity of the new varieties.
The cost to scrutinize mowings or prunings to a similar extent of that achieved by Integrity Propagation (i.e. DNA and virus-testing) would probably exceed $500,000 per ton. You may not like what you find. Upon becoming familiar with the rooted cutting technique, growers generally prefer this method due to rapid establishment and purity.
Why can’t I root cuttings from mowings?
Rutgers does not allow taking cuttings from the initial bed and rooting them using the “rooted cutting technique” to establish a new bed due to the potential of volunteers from seedlings.
These seedlings that survive are vegetatively aggressive; they produce volunteers that contribute disproportionately to the next bed established.
One seed with one runner can produce as much as 20 or 30 sq. ft. of an off-type volunteer in the new bed. Only Foundation Level Virus Indexed stolons can be used for rooted cutting propagation.
Why Use Rooted Cuttings to Establish a Primary Field Planting
What is the cost of buying rooted cuttings from Integrity Propagation?
The cost is $8,300 – $11,000 per acre, depending upon how and when they are grown. The most inexpensive way to grow plants is to root them in open trays.
How are the rooted plants sold?
Winter Plants are greenhouse grown, planted mid-February, and are available for shipping beginning mid-May.
Spring Plants are rooted outside in the spring, and are usually available for sale in late June or early July.
Inventory Plants are Spring Plants remaining in our inventory to be planted early spring the following year.
There are 2 tray types:
96 Cell Trays have 96 plants growing in individual tapered cells, which are usually preferred for mechanical transplanters.
Open Trays have 128 plants growing without separation in one flat. These generally produce larger plants with greater root systems that must be pulled apart for transplanting.
What is the cost comparison between planting rooted cuttings and conventional planting?
Planting one plant per square foot is equal to about 50% of the cost of planting two tons of vines per acre. Rooted cuttings generally establish about 80% ground cover during the first growing season. In the second growing season, growers have reported greater than 200 barrels/acre yields.
Rooted cuttings have well-established roots at the time of transplanting. Therefore, the new planting is eligible for a herbicide program long before conventional propagation.
How to Plant Rooted Cuttings
How many plants should I plant per acre?
The minimum recommendation is 1 plant per sq. ft., or 43,560 plants per acre.
Some growers decide that planting at a higher density aids weed control and increases yield in the second and third year. Additionally, some mechanical planters are set to plant at a greater density.
How early in the year can I plant rooted cuttings in the bed?
Plants can be planted as early as you are able to do so. The earlier, the better; this is one advantage to plants purchased from our inventory.
When is it too late to plant?
Some of our customers have successfully planted rooted cuttings as late as September and October. However, we do not recommend planting later than late August. In this way, the plants will develop greater root mass, protecting them from wave displacement in flooded beds.
How should rooted cuttings be planted?
Growers use a variety of machines to efficiently transplant rooted cuttings into their beds.
A Sfoggia transplanter (or machines of a similar design) is one viable method. Each carousel being filled by a worker supplies plants to two rows simultaneously. Growers report each worker riding a transplanter will plant up to 20,000 plants per day. These transplanters usually require the use of individual, tapered cell trays.
Several growers have built 9 row, semi-automated “self transplanters.” Contained within each row is a worker, a planter shoe, and two packer wheels. This transplanter will plant individual tapered cells or larger, irregular-shaped plants from open trays. These transplanters typically plant about 1½ acres per day.
Please see our Planting Resources page for more details.
For more information regarding transplanters in your specific region, please Contact Integrity Propagation.
Can I plant more than one variety in the same bed?
The license only requires a reasonable distance of 2 feet between varieties.
Sections should be marked as to the varieties planted. Separation strips should be free of unwanted materials and weeds, as much as is possible.
How deep should I plant rooted cuttings?
Rooted cuttings should be planted deeper than they were planted in the tray. This will facilitate rooting of new shoots.
Integrity Propagation provides a planting diagram with all orders.
After planting rooted cuttings, how much and how often should I fertilize?
Integrity Propagation provides detailed fertilizer recommendations with your plant material, taking your specific circumstances into account.
How often should I irrigate the beds?
Rooted cuttings are very resilient. Keep the bed moist, but not wet, as this would discourage root growth.
Growers typically water new beds between every other day and twice per day depending on sun intensity, temperature, and wind conditions.
When will my rooted plants be shipped?
We are able to ship your order any time you are ready to receive them.
Attributes of the Rutgers New Varieties
What are the actual yields for Crimson Queen®, Mullica Queen®, Demoranville®, Scarlet Knight®, Haines™, and Welker™ reported by growers who have already established beds?
Growers have reported yields well over 600 barrels/acre for Crimson Queen®, Mullica Queen®, and Demoranville® varieties. Yields from the fresh fruit variety, Scarlet Knight®, are generally slightly higher than Stevens.
What is FLVI?
FLVI, or “Foundation Level Virus Indexed,” indicates that 100% of the plant material has come from a DNA-fingerprinted vine.
Furthermore, each original mother stock plant in which these vines were grown was tested and free from any viruses found in blueberries and cranberries. Testing is also conducted for phytoplasms, including false blossom.
FLVI plant material is sold exclusively by Integrity Propagation.
Rules Regarding Self Propagation Using Mowings or Prunings
If I buy the minimum acreage, may I utilize it to establish more acreage?
Yes, Rutgers only requires growers purchase one acre.
NOTE: An additional propagating license is required to propagate Scarlet Knight®, Haines™, or Welker™ by conventional propagation.
Contact Integrity Propagation for more information.
Growers may produce fruit or prunings and mowings from their initial field planting to plant secondary field planting, or even subsequent field planting.
Rutgers does not regulate the density of conventional propagation of subsequent field planting when growers are using mowings or prunings from their own beds.
Nevertheless, Rutgers recommends that growers always use plant material as close to the initial foundation level plant material from Integrity Propagation as possible.
Rutgers prohibits rooted cutting propagation with any plant material other than foundation level plant material, due to its potential to exponentially reproduce off types inevitably found in mowings.
Other Questions
Why doesn’t Integrity Propagation raise Foundation Level Stevens plant material?
Stevens has historically proven to be an excellent variety in our industry. Additionally, Stevens has served as an excellent parent in its pure form. Notwithstanding these facts, there is little incentive to create Foundation Level Stevens, as their productivity is significantly lower than Rutgers New Variety releases.
Do you ship plants to British Columbia?
Yes, we have developed methods of economically shipping plants to B.C., using one-way, disposable pallets.
One trailer using one-way pallets holds approximately 8 – 10 acres of plant material. We regularly ship to Wisconsin, Massachusetts, Quebec, and New Brunswick using shipping carts that are returned to Integrity Propagation.
When is my Rutgers Royalty payment due?
Royalty payments are due 30 days after planting.
How long after planting will a bed be ready for production?
Growers may choose to harvest fruit in the fall and replant using rooted cuttings in the spring of the following year, resulting in only one year of total production loss.
In some beds, the first harvest of the new variety in the second year exceeds the production preceding renovation.
If you have additional questions, please Contact Us.
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