Apache is notorious for producing white drupelets, especially in the deep south. The other varieties from the Arkansas program (Arapaho, Navaho, Ouachita, Choctaw, out of the ones you mentioned) *sometimes* get white drupelets, but it's not that common.

Nobody really knows why it happens. Some people think it's sunburn, some people say it's stinkbugs, but in general, it seems like it's just a genetic defect.

This year will be my 4th crop with Apache in my yard. The first crop had a lot of white drupelets, the second and third year had only a couple of fruits affected. I have Arapaho also, and it has never had white drupelets on it so far.

wrayres,

Thanks, that's good to hear that the first year was worse than others. My apache fruited for the first time last year and the fruit were pretty much useless. Most of the berries had white drupelets.

I'm looking for a space to put in a Triple Crown instead, and I have my eye on that Apache as a candidate.

White droplets are common on new planting the plants grow so fast they pickup iron slowly farther south more plants grow into larger bush. Iron heavy so gravity pull is greater. In large planting go to fertlizer house are dealer buy liquid iron in 5 gallon pail last that I bought was 27.50 for 5 gallons so I got 4 cans for 22 acres blackberries that came close to 4 quarts per acre. Method of application is to spray straight stream a long side plants on eachside in november are december of year. This take care of iron problems for many years 3 at least in sandy soil longer in other soils. You haveto live through this season with white druplets to late do anything should see the christmas tree effect in some leafs which is iron problems vains be green and leaf be yellow. Its funny to me a stink bug can not suck just iron from druplet. Iron pigment of color. By watching a stink bug feed on berry you see what goes on the juice be suckout druplet so skin will swivel and turn brown like sunburn not turn white filled with juice. If grab pail liquid iron take around barn it come clear how heavy it is and plant has time with uptake. A trap crop of turnups and mustard in early fall planted when soybeans turn yellow leafs they come to most green around which be greens spray with pounce chemical time limit to harvest is one day it kill all stink bug around your farm wait till all come in once frost falls there gone if don't kill them greens good to. I started cultivating blackberries in 1949 in south have not have white druplet problem in many years put iron on about every 5 years. If study blackberry culture you see iron is need as fertilizer added in program in someplaces but it is best on new planting to prevent. Note to small growers a good garden center have 8 .oz bottle of liquid iron use it all at teaspoon per gallon water for blackberries and other plants on soil. Larger berry variety will have more white druplets.

Thanks to everyone for their feedback. I also asked some NARBA folks what might cause white drupelets to appear on the Apaches and I received two sets of answers. One agreed with fruitgirl and the other suggested the damage can be attributed to heat/UV radiation and possibly infrared damage. More specifically, "the damage occurs when there is an abrupt increase in temperature and a drop in humidity. We see it when the temperature exceeds 90 degrees F (32 C) and the humidity is low. It can be severe after a period with things loping along in the 70s (21 C). Wind exacerbates the problem by pushing away the moist, dense air in the canopy."

After receiving that response, I remembered we'd been having an abnormally cool spring (i.e., in the 70's and low 80's), then around the first week in May, we had a 3 day patch of 90 degree weather with low humidity (and it's always breezy in the field) and then it went back into the 80's with the typical southern humidity for the area returning to normal.

gator_rider2: I found your iron solution quite interesting and will definitely consider it if we start seeing the yellow leaf/green vein symptom. However, all of the Apache blackberry plants producing the white drupelet berries are very green and healthy, but I will definitely check them more closely when go back into the field today.

Thanks again for all your comments!

Ken