Three new blackberry varieties have recently been released by U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Agricultural Research Service. The best genetics of eastern and western blackberries were combined to develop the Eclipse, Galaxy and Twilight varieties. The first variety to move from the test fields to final selection was Eclipse.
Eclipse inherited some of its productivity, vigor, and flavor traits from ones of its parents Triple Crown but ripens earlier and can fill a void in the fresh market harvest season. The Galaxy variety also comes from Triple Crown but produces a few days earlier than Eclipse. Galaxy berries are also slightly larger than the Eclipse. Twilight ripens last of the three varieties and is higher yielding than Eclipse.
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