CLARKSVILLE, Ark. — The University of Arkansas Division of Agriculture released two new fruits this year, adding to their nationally known cultivars.
At the University of Arkansas' Fruit Research Station in Clarksville, new crops grow under the care of Dr. Margaret Worthington. As director of the fruit breeding program, she oversees the breeding of new plants or cultivars.
"Whether that's a big commercial scale grower who's going to sell wholesale or a small farm owner who's going to sell to a farmer's market or even a local person who just wants to have a nice fruit in their backyard," Dr. Worthington said.
Dr. Worthington explained that the University's Division of Agriculture is a leader in developing blackberry cultivars.
"Our blackberry cultivars are some of the most widely-grown cultivars across the U.S.," Dr. Worthington said.
Their first release of 2024 was a fruit long sought after, a late-season blackberry.
"Sweet-Ark Immaculate, is our latest floor cane fruiting thorn-less blackberry variety," Dr. Worthington said. "There's not a lot of options for growers in this part of the world who want something to extend the season into mid-late July, and this is a really late fruiting one. So it's a market window where there's not a lot of options. Very productive, really good postharvest quality."
The Sweet-Ark Immaculate's plant grows more compact with nodes spaced closer than regular blackberry plants. The stature is also shorter, which Dr. Worthington says is beneficial for growers who no longer "have to come in and do that summer pruning or tipping at the same time that they're doing [the] harvest, and that the plants will just be a little bit more manageable."
A new twist on a favorite fruit has also returned to Clarksville more than a few years after its original creation.
"Ozark Mango is a selection that Jim Moore my predecessor's predecessor first made back in 1997. It's a yellow-fleshed standard acid nectarine," Dr. Worthington said. "In my opinion, it's definitely the tastiest nectarine or peach that we have in our program. And I just couldn't resist pulling the trigger on release again."
Dr. Worthington said both crops are public releases, meaning anyone can propagate the varieties after handling a licensing agreement with the Technology Commercialization Office.
"You go to Fayetteville farmers market or anywhere else and you'll see growers selling it and see people who are really excited to buy that fruit, buy the name, and it's a good feeling that you know that you're doing something that has real-world impact for Arkansans," Dr. Worthington said.
According to the Technology Commercialization page, work like this in the Division of Agriculture has generated more than $4 million.
"Some of that revenue comes back to the Division of Agriculture, and it can support things like education for Arkansans and other breeding programs and research programs that maybe don't have that commercial impact right now but had the potential to do that in the future," Dr. Worthington said.
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