The genetic regioon that controls the primocane-fruiting trait of blackberries, or the ability to flower and fruit on firt-year canes, was located by a national team of researchers led by Margaret Worthington, director of the Fruit Breeding Program for the University of Arkansas Division of Agriculture's Arkansas Agricultural Experiment Station. Credit: UADA Lifting a veil of uncertainty in blackberry genetics, a national team of horticulture scientists have discovered evidence pointing to the single genetic region that controls primocane-fruiting, or the ability to flower and fruit on first-year canes. The primocane-fruiting trait has fueled the rapid growth of the fresh-market blackberry industry over the past two decades, enabling fruit to be grown in warmer climates and to be produced outside the traditional harvest window.…