'Francesca', 'Lauretta', 'Silvia' and 'Dina': four new strawberry cultivars for northern and southern European cultivation conditions from the Marche Polytechnic University breeding programme

As a result of the breeding programme carried out by the Marche Polytecnic University (Ancona, IT) four new strawberry cultivars were released. The cultivars were originated for the breeding programme carried out at in the experimental field of Marche Polytecnic University and depending on the origin of their parents were then tested in either northern and southern European conditions. ‘Francesca’, ‘Lauretta’ and ‘Silvia’ are three short-day cultivars of high interest for temperate, temperate-cold strawberry cultivation environments, with very early (‘Francesca’), early-mid (‘Lauretta’) and late (‘Silvia’) cropping seasons. All new cultivars are characterized by high resilience to disease and high fruit quality. Their major traits were successfully confirmed in different central and-northern cultivation areas of Europe. ‘Dina’ is a new short-day cultivar, with adaptation for to temperate-warm, subtropical climates, and has a very early season cropping. It is characterized with high plant resilience disease and high fruit quality. The characteristics of ‘Dina’ were confirmed in different Mediterranean cultivation areas.