'Malling Centenary', a short-day strawberry cultivar from NIAB-EMR

Since 1988, the strawberry breeding programme at East Malling has successfully released 43 cultivars primarily for the Northern European market. The latest cultivar release, 'Malling Centenary', represents the first mainstream cultivar developed under the direction of East Malling Strawberry Breeding Club (EMSBC) which was formed in 2008 to continue the development of new strawberry cultivars at East Malling. 'Malling Centenary' is an early-mid season, short-day type that ripens four to seven days before the standard cultivar 'Elsanta'. It has a moderate yield, very good fruit size (>70% of >35 mm fruit) and a very high percentage (>90%) of Class 1 marketable fruit. Berries are firm and attractive with a very regular shape and excellent flavour. Brix (°) levels are similar to 'Elsanta' but shelf life scores indicate it has better storage. Plants have moderate vigour, similar to 'Elsanta', but with a very good fruit display, which combined with the large fruit size has been shown to significantly decrease picking costs on many growers' sites. Since its release in 2013 it has rapidly been taken up by the retail market in Northern Europe. This cultivar was named and released to mark the centenary of the East Malling Research Station, Kent, United Kingdom (UK).