EVALUATION OF DAY-NEUTRAL CULTIVARS FOR ORGANIC STRAWBERRY PRODUCTION IN WASHINGTON

W. Hoashi-Erhardt, P. Moore, D. Collins, A. Bary , C. Cogger
Day-neutral strawberries (Fragaria ×ananassa) are an important crop for Pacific Northwest (PNW) organic farmers. Day-neutral cultivars are primarily developed in other regions for conventional production systems, and their suitability for organic production under PNW growing conditions is untested. Ten day-neutral cultivars in research plots, and a subset of five commercially important day-neutral cultivars at four Washington organic farms were evaluated for yield, fruit quality traits, vigor, and flavor in the establishment year and the second “carryover” year. ‘Aromas’ and ‘Seascape’ were the highest yielding and most durable cultivars under organic management in both the first and second production years. However, flavor of ‘Aromas’ was rated low, and ‘Seascape’ was susceptible to verticillium wilt. ‘Albion’ was not as robust a cultivar as ‘Aromas’, but was rated very highly for flavor. Vigor estimates at various stages of growth appear to be correlated with yield and durability. New breeding efforts for the day-neutral strawberry type in this region will rely on evaluation criteria identified in this cultivar trial.
Hoashi-Erhardt, W., Moore, P., Collins, D., Bary , A. and Cogger, C. (2013). EVALUATION OF DAY-NEUTRAL CULTIVARS FOR ORGANIC STRAWBERRY PRODUCTION IN WASHINGTON. Acta Hortic. 1001, 167-174
DOI: 10.17660/ActaHortic.2013.1001.18
https://doi.org/10.17660/ActaHortic.2013.1001.18
Fragaria ×ananassa, yield, vigor, flavor, fruit quality
English

Acta Horticulturae