Sweet-Ark Immaculate

Sweet-Ark Immaculate, tested as A-2718T, is a thornless floricane-fruiting blackberry from the University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture fruit breeding programme - the 22nd blackberry and 16th floricane type the programme has released, and the third in the Sweet-Ark series after Ponca and Caddo. The station lists it as a 2023 release, with licensed nursery stock reaching commercial propagators for the 2024 planting season. It was bred to fill a specific gap: a firm-fruited late-season cultivar that can still be shipped, since late blackberries historically command premium prices but the existing late cultivars are too soft to travel. In postharvest trials at the Fruit Research Station near Clarksville it held better firmness than every comparison cultivar after two weeks of refrigerated storage. It suits both commercial shippers and local growers who want fruit after the main Arkansas cultivars have finished.