01/19/07 New Variety of Gooseberry

New variety of gooseberry. I'm Greg Martin with today's Fruit Grower Report. If you are one that gets goosebumps thinking about gooseberries, you'll want to check out "Jeanne." At least that's what the scientists at the Agricultural Research Service's National Clonal Germplasm Repository (NCGR) in Corvallis, OR are calling a new disease- and pest-resistant dessert gooseberry. Jeanne is named for a former NCGR employee. The plant`s robustness protects it from insect threats as well. Jeanne is highly resistant to pests like aphids and sawflies. This and its high-quality fruit make it ideal for home plantings or commercial gooseberry production in the Pacific Northwest and similarly temperate climate zones. Gooseberry production is limited in the United States, partially due to restrictions imposed in the last century. Like other Ribes species, gooseberries are generally susceptible to white pine blister rust. While the disease causes them little harm, it can be devastating--even fatal--to pine trees. Jeanne gooseberries are highly resistant to white pine blister rust and to powdery mildew, the biggest disease threat to U.S. gooseberry production. Jeanne also boasts a higher yield than similar cultivars such as Invicta and Captivator, producing about 3.3 pounds of the flavorful fruits per plant during the growing season. Scientists project that Jeanne, whose dark, sweet berries are well suited to desserts, juices and jams, could extend the production season because it blooms and produces fruit about one to two weeks later than other red gooseberry plants. That's today's Fruit Grower Report. I'm Greg Martin on the Northwest Ag Information Network.