'SUVETAR' AND 'VALOTAR' – NEW STRAWBERRY CULTIVARS FROM MTT BREEDING PROGRAMME

‘Suvetar’ and ‘Valotar’ are the first two varieties launched from the new strawberry breeding programme of MTT Agrifood Research Finland. The breeding programme started in 1997 and aimed at developing powdery mildew (Podosphaera aphanis) resistant and firm-fruited new cultivars. ‘Suvetar’ is a seedling from the crossing of ‘Polka’ × ‘Emily’, and ‘Valotar’ originates from a cross between ‘Jewel’ and ‘Senga Sengana’. Both are midseason varieties, ripening a couple of days earlier than ‘Polka’. They have good resistance to mildew. In field trial the commercial yield and fruit size of ‘Suvetar’ and ‘Valotar’ were equivalent to ‘Jonsok’ and ‘Polka’. At present, ‘Polka’ is the most widely grown cultivar for main season production in Finland, and until recently, ‘Jonsok’ has been the main variety for early production. The new varieties have good fruit firmness. The fresh flavour, yield, fruit size and fruit appearance of ‘Suvetar’ and ‘Valotar’, together with improved fruit firmness, make them suitable to the fresh fruit market.