I was cheerfully eating all raspberries from the small plot in the backyard, including the 5% with white spots—pictured.
Today while pulling one of those with a white spot, I saw a little puff of white powder at the moment of pulling.
I'm starting to wonder that the white spots may be mold.
Can you shed some light on what they are, whether they're edible, and whether they indicate an upcoming wilder disease hitting the plant?
White Drupelet syndrome (white spot) has the cell fully formed, no powdery residue, but the color is white instead of the normal color.
It's caused by excessive sunlight (UV damage) or heat and is typically found on late season set raspberries. I view it as a normal end-of-crop phenomenon that indicates cane maintenance will be in order soon for next year's crop.
Berries are entirely edible, you just won't be selling them. The first berry in the top row is a gold standard reference.
If your berries got damp, powdery mildew can also be a late season condition. The powder will be gray and the berries mushy.
