Volume 30 Number 1 Article 25 Pages: 24-24
Year 1976 Month 1
Title: Day-Neutral vs. Short-Day Strawberry Breeding Advantages and Exploitation Potential
Author: R.S. Bringhurst
Citation
Abstract:
Day-neutral strawberry cultivars
were bred by backcrossing hvbrids of
Fragaria virginiana glauca from the
Wasatch Mountains near Salt Lake
City, Utah, with California short-day
cultivars.
The process is simple because
the day-neutral trial may be
handled as a simple dominant.
Large
fruit size and commerciallv acceptable
quality was restored within 3 backcross
generations.
In relatively warm
winter south coastal sites, the dayneutrals
can be brought into significant
production in November, December
and January by summer planting
stored plants in early August.
Fruit
production starts about 3 months after
planting.
This contrasts with the
short-day types which begin fruiting
in February at the earliest in southern
California.
Similar day-neutral selections
have been made to bear consistently
throughout the late summer
and fall in central coastal California,
by planting them at least 3 months
ahead of the desired time for starting
fruit production.
Short-day cultivars
are undependable during the late summer
and fall although they always
produce some fruit.
With the introduction
of day-neutrals, California
strawberry growers will have the option
of producing fresh strawberries
every month of the year using them
to complement the production patterns
of existing short-day types.
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