Copyright © 1995. All Rights Reserved. Quotation from this document should cite and acknowledge the contributor.
Common NamesEnglish: cloudberryGerman: Moltebeere, Torfbeere Canada, USA (Alaska): cloudberry, bakeapple Scientific NamesSpecies: Rubus chamaemorus L.Family: Rosaceae
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![]() Image by Kåre Rapp |
Formerly, this fruit was an important remedy for scurvy among hunters in the Arctic. Due to the high content of benzoic acid, a natural conservation chemical, the berry is easy to store in its fresh state in a refrigerator or a cold room.
Berries on the market today are hand-picked on native cloud-berry peat land. Both European and World market demand are largely unmet for this very special small-fruit.
Cultivation methods for cloudberry have been developed and introduced to farmers and other landowners in Norway. Machinery has also been developed for combined drainage and soil cultivation of peat land.
Two female and two male varieties of cloudberry have been developed for northern Norway, after selection and breeding at the Holt Research Centre, Tromsø. The varieties are registered according to the international UPOV rules.
A system for vegetative propagation has been developed to manage the registered varieties. Varieties suitable to southern districts of Norway are expected to be available on the market within a few years.
The fruit is a berry composed of several small nut-fruits (drupelets) each bearing a nut-seed. These small nut-seeds are a special characteristic of desserts comprising berries and cream.
The most favourable growing conditions are obtained on peat bogs between 0.5 and 1 meter in depth, with pH-values between 3.5 and 4.5, and with the ground water 40 to 50 cm below the surface. The berry yield level on native peat-land is 20 to 50 kg/ha (8 to 20 kg/acre).
Three cultivation methods (I, II, and III) are briefly described below, and are advised for cultivation practice.
Method I. Deep-fertilization with NPK fertilizer.
Artificial mineral fertilizers are put into holes, some 15 to 20 cm in depth made with wooden poles. This method is advised only if there are sufficient of natural female plants, and if there is no need for drainage. The use of this selective fertilization method is due to the fact that the cloudberry plant has most of its roots on the 15 to 20 cm horizon in the mires, whereas most of the competing species are more shallow rooted while some are deeper rooted.
Method II. Soil cultivation combined with deep-fertilization.
In this method strips are plowed or milled up as beds on the sphagnum mires. Again, this method is advised only if there are sufficient of natural female plants. These plants will soon break through the peat bed as a pioneer, providing the basis for a virgin community of young cloudberry plants. The furrows plowed and/or the ditches milled up will provide also drainage.
Method III. Full cultivation.
In this method soil cultivation is combined with plant propagation and planting, and deep-fertilization. This method is recommended if there are too few female plants in the native stand to provide the basis for a community following soil cultivation. For this method, the varieties will have to be propagated and planted at a density of 30,000 to 40,000/ha (12,000 to 16,000/acre) in order to provide an optimal cultivated stand.
Contributor: Kåre Rapp
Copyright © 1996. All Rights Reserved. Quotation from this document should cite and acknowledge the contributor.