2019 ASHS Annual Conference

Cultivar selection is one of the most important decisions strawberry farm operators make and it is the most practical means to solve production issues; however, there are few cultivars with documented adaptability from trial results to the climatic conditions of Alabama. Currently, ‘Camarosa’, has shown remarkable adaptability to the climatic conditions of Alabama and has replaced ‘Chandler’ as the market standard. To strength strawberry production in Alabama, a more diverse pool of cultivars is needed. The objective of this study was to evaluate several strawberry cultivars for their adaptability to Alabama growing conditions and their market potential to increase the number of suitable cultivars. A strawberry variety was established at the Chilton Research and Extension Center in Clanton, AL. Varieties included were ‘Albion’, ‘Chandler’, ‘Sweet Sensation’, ‘Ruby June’, ‘Camarosa’, ‘Festival’, ‘San Andreas’, , ‘Sweet Charlie’ ‘Flavorfest’, and ‘Camino Real’. Two advanced experimental lines, NCS 10-156 and NCS 10-083 but due to plant availability, only fruit size of these two selections were evaluated. Planting beds were established on October 5. Preplant herbicides were applied to each row on October 6 prior to the simultaneous installation of drip irrigation and black plastic mulch. Strawberry plug plants were transplanted on to experimental plots on October 20, 2017. Experimental plots were 20 ft long and spaced on 6 ft. centers. Plug plants were set planted in a double staggered configuration with 14 inches between plants within a staggered row and 14 inches between staggered rows resulting in a plant population of 12,342 plants per acre. The experiment followed a randomized complete block design. There were four replications per variety (treatment). Data collection consisted of early marketable yield (first seven harvests), early total yield (marketable yield plus cull weight), total marketable yield, total seasonal yield (total marketable yield plus cull weight), and berry size. An analysis of variance was performed on all responses using PROC GLIMMIX in SAS version 9.4 (SAS Institute, Cary, NC). Early marketable yield, early total yield, total market weight, total season yield, cull weight, and individual berry weight were analyzed using the normal probability distribution. Means were separated using the simulate methods. In early marketable yield and early total yield, there were no statistical differences among varieties. Berry size of ‘Flavorfest’ (20.3g) was similar to ‘Camarosa’ (22.3 g) but statistically larger than all other varieties. ‘Camarosa’ was similar to all other varieties in berry size.In total marketable yield, all varieties were similar to ‘Camarosa’ (11,859 lbs. /acre) with the exception of ‘San Andreas’ (494.4 lbs. /acre) and ‘Sweet Charlie’ (4,533 lbs. /acre). Additionally, total yield of ‘Camarosa’ (13,791 lbs. /acre) was similar to all other varieties but higher than “Sweet Charlie” (5,683 lbs. /acre) and ‘San Andrea’ (5,572.8 g). Fruit size of ‘Flavorfest’ (24 g) was similar to ‘Sweet Sensation’ (20.2 g), ‘Ruby June’ (19.9 g), ‘Albion’ (19.6 g) and ‘Camarosa’ (19.6 g). ‘Flavorfest’ performed as well as the market standard ‘Camarosa’ in all yield categories as well as in berry size.