Use of the salmonberry,Rubus spectabilis Pursh., in red raspberry breeding

Rubus spectabilis Pursh. was introduced as a donor of earliness in summer fruiting raspberries. F, hybrids between R. ideaus and R. spectabilis were more or less sterile but flowered very early. Fertility was almost fully restored in the BC[ generation. Some BC, individuals were early summer fruiting while some were early primocane fruiting. Using these as parents, further generations were raised and individuals with cultivar potential have been selected in the BC2 generation. The F, showed resistance to cane diseases and this resistance was largely retained in BC, and BC3 summer fruiting progenies. The two F, individuals used as parents were highly resistant to Phytophthora root rot and ten 2nd or 3rd backcross derivatives of R. spectabilis were moderately resistant.