Aronia Berry: A Potential New Small Fruit and Alternative Crop for North Georgia
ISSN 2158-9429
Volume 17, Issue 2 - December 2024
Editor: Linda Chalker-Scott
Abstract
Consumer demand for healthy foods - especially fruits and berries - is at an all-time high due to their potential well-being benefits and high content of antioxidants. Aronia, Chokeberry fits that bill. Limited knowledge exists in its culture in the Southeast, despite commercial production in the Midwest, and Northeast US. Since 2021 we have established replicated plantings of Aronia ‘Viking’ in Georgia in research setting and on a commercial farm. We have studied chill requirement, plant performance, culture, potential production issues, and yields under subtropical climate. Here, we share results from on-going projects and outreach activities. Plants established very well with limited inputs at all locations steadily increasing yield per bush. In Blairsville, GA experimental site yields increased from 0.41, 1.54, to 4.5 lb in 2022, 2023, and 2024 respectively. Fruit chemistry is comparable to values reported in the literature for northern grown crops. Based on these initial findings, we consider that Aronia berry holds promise as an alternative crop in north Georgia. We also discuss practical considerations for aronia culture on a commercial scale and marketing.
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