'Malling™ Allure' and 'Malling™ Champion': two new strawberry cultivars from NIAB EMR, United Kingdom

Since 1988, the strawberry breeding programme at East Malling has successfully released 45 cultivars primarily for the northern European market. The latest cultivar releases, ‘Malling™ Allure’ and ‘Malling™ Champion’, short-day and everbearer-types respectively, were developed by the East Malling Strawberry Breeding Club (EMSBC) programme in Kent, UK (UK) to complement the production season of the UK industry standard ‘Malling™ Centenary’. ‘Malling™ Allure’ is a late season, short-day type that typically crops ten days later than the standard cultivar ‘Elsanta’. It has a moderate yield, large fruit size (>65% of fruit >35 mm diameter) and a very high percentage (>90%) of Class 1 marketable fruit. Fruits are firm and attractive with a very regular shape and excellent flavour. °Brix levels are superior to ‘Elsanta’ but shelf life scores indicate it has better storage. Plants have moderate vigour compared to other late-season cultivars, e.g., ‘Florence’ and ‘Malwina’, with upright habit and very good fruit display. ‘Malling™ Champion’ is an early-season everbearer cultivar with peak production in July in the UK. It has attractive, conic-shaped fruit with firm skin and flesh and performs well in shelf life assessments. Class 1 yield is moderate to high, with a high percentage of marketable fruit (>85%). Plants have compact habit with low vigour, and fruit is well presented on long trusses providing for increased picking efficiency. Resistance to crown rot (Phytophthora cactorum) and wilt (Verticillium dahliae) and moderate resistance to powdery mildew (Podosphaera aphanis) have been reported in tests carried out at NIAB EMR. Both cultivars were released commercially in 2019 and are currently under application for protection under European Plant Variety Rights.