Botany and Planting

Strawberry—Fragaria × ananassa, Rosaceae.

Cultivars

Main Cultivars

Florida Brilliance. Released in 2017. Highest early yield of all varieties; large fruit size; uniform conic to broad-conic shape; very firm with excellent shelf life; externally very glossy red; light red internally; moderately resistant to rain damage; balanced flavor. The plant is robust but not overly vigorous; is upright with long stems, allowing ease of harvest; and does not require high N applications as ‘Florida Radiance’ and ‘Florida Beauty’ do. Fruit can develop weak skin during hot periods in mid-late season, and both N rates and irrigation volumes should be reduced to counteract this possible problem. Recommended planting dates in central Florida are Oct. 5–15. Resistant to anthracnose fruit rot and Colletotrichum crown rot; moderately susceptible to angular leaf spot; moderately susceptible to Botrytis fruit rot; moderately resistant to powdery mildew and charcoal rot; susceptible to Phytophthora root rot.

Sweet Sensation® Florida127. Released in 2013. Large fruit size; moderately uniform conic to broad-conic fruit; bright-red with lighter color than other cultivars. During cool weather a longer interval between harvests compared to other cultivars is usually necessary to allow optimum color development. Exceptional flavor throughout season; 1.0 to 1.5 degree Brix higher and slightly lower acidity than ‘Florida Brilliance’; susceptible to rain damage. The plant is vigorous, which may be an advantage in north Florida but in central Florida will require reduced nutrient applications early in the season and/or later planting dates to maintain a small plant size. Recommended planting dates in central Florida are Oct. 15–25. Resistant to anthracnose fruit rot and Colletotrichum crown rot; moderately resistant to charcoal rot (caused by Macrophomina phaseolina); moderately susceptible to angular leaf spot; susceptible to Botrytis fruit rot and powdery mildew (caused by Podosphaera aphanis); highly susceptible to Phytophthora root rot. Ridomil and phosphite applications are highly recommended.

Minor Cultivars

Florida Radiance. Released in 2008. Medium size; uniform, conic fruit with glossy appearance; glossy-red external color and medium-red internal color; moderately acidic but balanced flavor; moderately firm with good shipping quality; flexible skin that is resistant to rain damage. Low to medium plant vigor with open canopy; long fruit stems, giving excellent picking efficiency. Moderately resistant to anthracnose fruit rot and Colletotrichum crown rot; moderately susceptible to angular leaf spot, with symptoms particularly noticeable on the calyx; susceptible to Botrytis fruit rot; highly susceptible to Phytophthora root rot. With earlier planting dates, exposure to high temperatures during the establishment period can result in the development of elongated or “bullet” fruit in the early harvest until mid-December. This problem will be reduced with planting dates closer to the middle or end of October.

Florida Beauty. Released in 2016. Medium fruit size, excellent conic shape and even red color; exceptional flavor throughout season, second only to Sweet Sensation® ‘Florida127’; excellent resistance to rain damage. This cultivar is day-neutral and has very early onset of flowering; it is recommended to trim bloom after establishment and a second time when trimming leaves, a practice that produces larger fruit size and quality throughout the entire season. In central Florida, early and total yields are similar to ‘Florida Radiance’. Recommended planting dates in central Florida are Sept 25–Oct 5. Even earlier planting dates may help to produce a vigorous plant in north Florida. In all regions, high early-season N rates similar to ‘Florida Radiance’ and narrow plant spacing (12” between plants) are recommended because the plant is not as vigorous as ‘Florida Brilliance’ or Sweet Sensation®. Susceptible to anthracnose fruit rot and Colletotrichum crown rot; susceptible to Botrytis fruit rot and powdery mildew; moderately resistant to Phytophthora root rot.