Strawberry 'Flair' and 'Felicita' suitability for forcing under high tunnel

Strawberry cultivars ‘Zehyr’, ‘Honeoye’ and ‘Rumba’ are grown for early production in Latvia. In open field conditions, ‘Zephyr’ is early and productive, however, it is not suitable for early yield in high tunnels. ‘Honeoye’ is appropriate for growing in tunnels, but due to rather sour taste it is not well appreciated by consumers. ‘Rumba’ has good berry quality, but it is not enough winter hardy and berries come a few days later than ‘Honeoye’. Two new Dutch cultivars ‘Flair’ and ‘Felicita’, and ‘Rumba’ as a control were included in this study. The trial was established in August 7, 2014 in the FVG high tunnel (60×4×3.32 m; 240 m²). Frigo plants: category A+ for ‘Flair’ and ‘Felicita’ and category A for ‘Rumba’ were used. Plants were planted in double rows with planting distances 0.30×0.25 m and 1.20 m between row centers (6 plants m^‑2). The soil type was heavy loam. Beds were mulched with black plastic, supplied by drip irrigation. The number of inflorescences per plant; number of flowers per inflorescence; average number of flowers per plant; productivity; berry weight, quality and the assessment of storage were evaluated. According to evaluation results obtained in 4-year period ‘Flair’ might be suitable for forcing of yield under high tunnels in Latvia.