Minor Fruits are a diverse group of berry and other small fruit crops which continue to grow in popularity and develop market shares in the New York fruit production industry.
Click the links below to learn more about Minor Fruits.
Jump-Down Menu
General Information | Aronia | Autumn Olive | Beach Plum | Cranberries | Currants, Gooseberries, and Jostaberries (Ribes) | Elderberries | Hardy Kiwifruit | Hawthorns and Medlars | Juneberries (saskatoons) | Lingonberries | Mulberries | Persimmons and Pawpaws | Sea Buckthorn | Other | Home Growing
Major Berry Crops
General | Blueberry | Bramble | Strawberry
Featured Resources
- Nursery Guide for Berry and Small Fruit Crops – This two-part nursery guide for berry growers cross references scores of cultivars with the nurseries that sell them.
- Minor Fruits – Under-used trees and shrubs good for landscaping as well as fruit.
- Pawpaws in New York – Cornell Cooperative Extension
- Berry Soil and Nutrient Management – A Guide for Educators and Growers – Guide and webinars to help prepare soil preplant, correct problems in existing plantings, perform foliar testing and improve soil health.
General Information
- Educational Resources for Specialty Small Fruit Growers
- Uncommon Fruit Plants: Potential for Commercialization in NY
- Site and Soil Requirements for Berry Crops
Aronia
- Demand Increasing for Aronia and Elderberry in North America
- Black Chokeberry (Aronia melanocarpa)– USDA NRCS Plant Guide
- Aronia – University of Maine Cooperative Extension
- Are You an Aronia Berry Fan? – Iowa State University
- American Aronia Association
Autumn Olive
Beach Plum
- Cornell Beach Plum resources
- Cornell Pest Management Guidelines for Commercial Tree Fruit Production
- Beach Plum Production and Marketing
Cranberries
- Cornell Pest Management Guidelines for Berry Crops – Chapter 9 Cranberries
- Terminology for Cranberry Bud Development and Growth – University of Wisconsin Madison
- Nitrogen for Bearing Cranberries in North America – Oregon State University
- Cranberry Tissue Testing for Producing Beds in North America – Oregon State University
- Overview of Organic Cranberry Production – Center for Integrated Agricultural Systems, University of Wisconsin
- Wisconsin Cranberry Crop Management Library – University of Wisconsin
- Cranberry Agriculture in Maine – University of Maine
- UMASS Cranberry Station – University of Massachusetts Amherst
Currants, Gooseberries and Jostaberries (Ribes)
- Ribes Cultivar Review
- Goosebery phenology (growth stages) poster
- Red currant phenology (growth stages) poster
- Black currant phenology (growth stages) poster
- Cornell Pest Management Guidelines for Berry Crops – Chapter 8: Ribes
- Developing Gooseberries for Commercial Specialty Markets
- Red Currants and Gooseberries: Extended Season and Marketing Flexibility with Controlled Atmosphere Storage
- Improved Fresh Fruit Quality of Gooseberries and Red Currants with the Cordon Training System
- Currants, Gooseberries and Jostaberries – A Guide for Growers, Marketers, and Researchers in North America (print publication)
Elderberries
- Demand Increasing for Aronia and Elderberry in North America
- Elderberry Culture in New York State
- Elderberry Growth Stages (Phenology)
- Cornell Pest Management Guidelines for Berry Crops – Chapter 10 Elderberries
- Elderberry Research and Production in Missouri
- Elderberry – University of Kentucky
- Elderberries – Norm’s Farms
- Growing Elderberries in Oklahoma
Hardy Kiwifruit
(Note: Hardy kiwifruit may smother neighboring trees if plantings are abandoned. This may have occurred once in Massachusetts and again in New York on Long Island. The plant grows as a smothering vine in these two locations.)
- Growing Kiwiberries in New England: An online guide for regional producers
- Hardy Kiwi-Emerald Gems
- Hardy Kiwifruit – California Rare Fruit Growers
- Growing Kiwifruit – Oregon State University
Hawthorns and Medlars
- Hawthorns | Natural Resource Stewardship (Iowa State University)
- Medlars (Maine Organic Farmers and Gardeners Association)
Juneberries (saskatoons)
- Cornell Pest Management Guidelines for Berry Crops – Chapter 11 Juneberries
- Saskatoon Berry Institute of North America
- Economices of Saskatoon Berry Production – A Ten Acre Enterprise – Alberta Agriculture and Rural Development
Lingonberries
- Lingonberries
- Lingonberry Production Guide for the Pacific Northwest– Oregon State University
- Economic Evaluation of Lingonberry Production in Oregon
Mulberries
- Mulberry Fruit Facts– California Rare Fruit Growers
Persimmons and Pawpaws
- Pawpaws in New York – Cornell Cooperative Extension
- Persimmon Production – ATTRA
- Persimmon Fruit Facts – California Rare Fruit Growers
- PawPaw Production – ATTRA
- Pawpaw Fruit Facts – California Rare Fruit Growers
Sea Buckthorn
- Sea Buckthorn Production Guide – Canada Seabuckthorn Enterprises
- Sea Buckthorn: Production and Utilization – National Research Council Canada
- Sea Buckthorn Production in Manitoba– Manitoba Agriculture, Food and Rural Initiatives>
- Guidelines for Estimating Sea Buckthorn Production Costs – Manitoba Agriculture, Food and Rural Initiatives
Other
- Uncommon Fruits for Every Garden (print publication)
- Mid-Atlantic Berry Guide For Commercial Growers
Information for Home Fruit Plantings
- Cornell Guide to Growing Fruit at Home
- Cornell Garden-based Learning
- Chapter 11: Small fruit cultural pest management in Pest Management Around the Home Cultural Methods
- Fruit Production for the Home Gardener- A Comprehensive Guide– Penn State University