2017 ASHS Annual Conference

‘Phenomenal’ was a significant cultivar in subtropical Queensland during mid last century. Here we report some aspects of its origins, history and current use. As early as the 1890’s it was suggested that ‘strawberries with flavour to tempt the Englishman’s palate’ could not be grown in subtropical Queensland, Australia. Yet, in 1906-1907, in the small town of Gympie, (26°11'S, 152°39'E), Queensland, situated 170 kilometres north of Brisbane, the ‘Phenomenal’ variety of strawberry was developed by Charles A Flay after seven years in experimental trials. At the time, ‘Phenomenal’ was noted for its superb flavour, good colouring and the ‘fruit being more numerous than the leaves’. The Department of Agriculture found that the ‘Phenomenal’ variety was superior to other varieties derived from seed imported from America for breeding work at Nambour, prior to World War II. According to Mr N Morgan, the Senior Advisor in Horticulture, ‘Phenomenal’ “was [at that time] the basis of the strawberry industry of Queensland and [was] still the leading variety of the state.” Just over a century later, this historically significant strawberry has stood the test of time and is still being used in research today. Recently it was found, when compared to ‘Camarosa’ to have high levels of resistance to Colletotrichum gloeosporioides and Macrophomina phaseolina.