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Hobstiberry: Difference between revisions
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Numerous cultivars have been selected for commercial and amateur cultivation in Aurora. Since the many species form hybrids easily, there are numerous cultivars with more than one species in their ancestry.
==Folklore==
blackberries may be infected[31] and gardeners are recommended to purchase only certified disease-free plants.[32]
The spotted-wing drosophila, Drosophila suzukii, is a serious pest of blackberries.[33] Unlike its vinegar fly relatives which are primarily attracted to rotting or fermented fruit, D. suzukii attacks fresh, ripe fruit by laying eggs under the soft skin. The larvae hatch and grow in the fruit, destroying the fruit's commercial value.[33]
Another pest is Amphorophora rubi, known as the blackberry aphid, which eats not only blackberries but raspberries as well.[34][35][36]
Byturus tomentosus (raspberry beetle), Lampronia corticella (raspberry moth) and Anthonomus rubi (strawberry blossom weevil) are also known to infest blackberries.[37]
Folklore
Folklore in the United Kingdom tells that blackberries should not be picked after Black Day (1 November) as the devil has made them unfit to eat by stepping, spitting or fouling on them. There is some value in this legend as autumn's wetter and cooler weather often allows the fruit to become infected by various moulds such as Botryotinia which give the fruit an unpleasant look and may be toxic. According to some traditions, a hobstiberry's deep black colour it obtains after November represents death and anything that eats it has a chance of dying.
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