Fruit production starts the next year and reaches its peak in the fourth or fifth years. Most blackberry plants live 15 to 20 years. Blackberries to be sold as fresh fruit are harvested by hand. Those to be sold for processing are harvested by machines that shake the fruit from the bush. More than 90 percent of the blackberries grown commercially in the United States are sold for processing.
Blackberry plants require special care to produce large crops of fruit.
For example, growers prune the plants regularly. In addition, growers spray the plants with pesticides for protection against insects. The blackberry is a member of the rose family, Rosaceae. It is classified as genus Rubus. Wild blackberries are R. alleghenienses.