Opportunities for strawberry production using new U.C. day-neutral cultivars Kirk Larson Pomologist and CE Specialist Dept. of Plant Sciences, UC Davis
Professor Douglas Shaw Quantitative Geneticist UC Davis
UC Strawberry Website www.plantsciences.ucdavis.edu/ucstrawberry Industry/grower reports Annual Report - Processing Strawberry Advisory Board of California ppt presentations Scientific reports Annual Pomology Report Calendar of events
UC day-neutral strawberry breeding objectives Extended fruiting season with stable production Easy to grow (nursery & fruiting field) High yield & quality across a range of chilling exposures Consistently high fruit quality and flavor Plant architecture that facilitates fruit harvest Disease & environmental tolerances
California strawberry production regions Cool winters, mild summers Year-round fruit production High-elevation nurseries Low-elevation nurseries Watsonville-Salinas Santa Maria Ventura County Orange Co. & San Diego
Fruit production using the new DN cultivars Monterey, Portola and San Andreas These 3 cultivars represent a significant step in the development of day-neutral cultivars Fruit quality similar to Albion but w/ greater yields Adapted to a wide range of chilling exposures In southern Calif., reduced chilling requirements enable: early digging/planting early production with high yields excellent fruit quality
San Andreas High elevation bare-root plants (leaves-off) Dig/plant date: 9/28-10/1 Photo: 12/10/11
Monterey Moderate day-neutral cultivar Vigorous plant Large fruit with good color & excellent, v.sweet flavor Use mid-october plantings in So. Calif. In Central Coast, plant from early- to late-nov. Highly productive with a later production pattern than most DN cultivars in So. California Cautions: powdery mildew some irregular fruit shape cold damage in HE nurseries - early spring
Monterey Dug 10/15, planted 11/7 Dug 10/15, planted 10/23
Production management of Monterey in So. Calif. Preplant soil fumigation - use best fumigants available Drip-applied fumigants are most common, but may not be the most effective Pre-plant (slotted) CR fertilizer 150-180# N/acre Pre-plant mulch: clear, panda or black Plant source: HE nurseries near CA/OR border Plant size is important: want >0.8 cm crown diameters Bare-root (no leaves) plants dug Oct. 6-12, plant Oct. 8-16 24,500 plants/acre (64, 4-row beds, w/16 in-row spacing)
Production management of Monterey in So. Calif. Use sprinklers to establish plants during first 2-3 weeks Depending on plant development and weather, begin feeding w/soluble fertilizer 4-6 weeks after planting Use drip-applied soluble fertilizer (12-5-5 or similar) every 2 weeks to encourage side-crown development Once plants are well-established, apply deep irrigations ~2x/week to promote deep rooting With increasing fruit loads in late Jan./early Feb., switch to a 4-10-10 soluble fertilizer to maintain fruit quality (flavor, firmness and color)
Monterey
Monterey plug plants produced with zero chill hours in Southern California
San Andreas The most widely-planted cultivar in So. California Moderate day-neutral with early flowering Compact plant that facilitates fruit harvest Fruit sought by high-end retailers Very few or no runners in fruiting fields Highly rain-tolerant Strong disease tolerance profile In So. Calif., plant by Oct. 1 In Central Coast, plant mid-nov. Special needs in So. California: Use clear or panda mulch to promote veg growth Remove panicle(s) to encourage veg growth
Black Panda Bed mulch color and plant vigor Clear
High-elevation plants of San Andreas in So. Calif. December, 2010 Plants dug 9/28, planted 10/1
San Andreas
Fruit of San Andreas in April - Irvine, CA
Production management of S. Andreas in So. Calif. Preplant soil fumigation - use best fumigants available Drip-applied fumigants are most common, but may not be the most effective Pre-plant (slotted) CR fertilizer 150-180 #/acre Pre-plant mulch: clear or panda (not black) Plant source: HE nurseries near CA/OR border Plant size is important: want >0.8 cm crown diameters Bare-root (no leaves) plants dug Sept. 24 to Oct. 1, planted Sept. 26 to Oct. 4 Use 30,000-32,750 plants/acre (64, 4-row beds, with either 12 or 13 in-row spacing)
Production management of S. Andreas in So. Calif. Use sprinklers to establish plants during first 2-3 weeks Remove flowering panicles to encourage veg. growth Depending on plant development and weather, begin feeding w/soluble fertilizer 3-4 weeks after planting Use drip-applied soluble fertilizer (12-5-5 or similar) to encourage veg. growth and side-crown development Once plants are well-established, apply deep irrigations ~2x/week to promote deep rooting With increasing fruit loads in late Jan - early Feb, switch to a low N analysis fertilizer (4-10-10) to maintain fruit quality (flavor, firmness and color)
Dug 10/15, planted 11/7 San Andreas Dug 10/15, planted 10/23
San Andreas plug plants with zero chill hours in Southern California, late November
San Andreas field in Santa Maria - April
San Andreas in Oxnard, California High-elevation plants planted October 2 Photo taken January 3
Bed mulch color affects growth and fruiting of San Andreas Clear mulch Black mulch
Portola Strong day-neutral cultivar Very early fruiting Highly productive High quality fruit In So. Calif., growers use cold-stored plants to obtain off-season fruit from Sept. - Jan. In Central Coast region, use fresh-dug plants established early- to mid-november Note: Less rain-tolerant than Monterey or San Andreas
Production management of Portola in So. Calif. Preplant soil fumigation - use best fumigants available Drip-applied fumigants are most common, but may not be the most effective Pre-plant (slotted) CR fertilizer 150-180 #/acre Pre-plant mulch: white on black (cools soil) Plant source: LE nurseries in CA Central Valley Use bare-root, cold-stored plants dug in Jan. Plant size is important: want >0.8 cm crown diameters Plant from March - July for fruit production June - Jan ~24,500 plants/acre (64, 4-row beds, 16 in-row spacing)
Production management of Portola in So. Calif. Use sprinklers to establish plants during first 2-3 weeks Remove 1 st flower panicle to encourage veg. growth Let 2 nd flower panicle set fruit, and only prune it off when the 3 rd panicle is visible Cold-stored plants are highly vigorous, so may not need much fertilizer If needed, use drip-applied fertilizer (12-5-5 or similar) to encourage veg. growth & crown development Once plants are well-established, apply deep irrigations ~2x/week to promote deep rooting With heavy fruiting, use 4-10-10 soluble fertilizer to maintain fruit quality (flavor, firmness and color)
Portola: fresh-dug plant
HE Portola plants planted late November in Santa María, CA Photo taken April 13
Portola cold-stored plants
Performance of summer-planted (cold-stored) plants of Portola in Southern California Planted July 1 White-on-black mulch reduces soil temperature and promotes plant growth
Performance of summer-planted Portola and Albion in three years (2005-07) in Irvine, CA 12-pound crates per acre Fruit. % size app firm Cultivar Sept Oct Nov Dec Total cull (g) (5=best) (5= v. firm) Albion 141 152 228 224 745 20 22.5 2.9 3.5 Portola 738 1391 1427 951 4507 12 28.3 3.4 3.4 * Cold-stored (frigo) plants planted June 28
Portola
Performance of HE Albion compared with Monterey, Portola & San Andreas in Watsonville, 2005-08 Total Late* yield yield App. Grams Firmness Cultivar (MT ha -1 ) (MT ha-1) (1-5) fruit -1 lbs inch -2 Albion 109.9 30.2 3.9 31.6 11.1 Monterey 139.9 34.8 3.5 33.0 10.8 S.Andreas 138.2 36.4 4.4 31.9 11.6 Portola 146.5 36.7 3.6 32.7 10.3 Late yield = yield after September 1 App. = subjective appearance score (5=best) Macdoel nursery plants dug Oct. 15, planted with 2.5 weeks storage
Yield performance of Albion and new DN cultivars using cold-stored plants Fruit Yield Wt App Firmness Var g/plant (g) (1-5) lbs/in 2 Albion 2855 33.9 3.9 12.6 Monterey 3581 34.2 3.5 11.1 San Andreas 3583 33.8 4.4 11.8 Portola 3358 35.6 3.4 10.7 Cold-stored plants planted Sept. 7 in Watsonville, Calif
Nursery dig date and chilling exposure affect plant vigor Plants dug Oct. 20 Plants dug Sept. 10 Plants dug Oct. 1
UC Strawberry website: www.plantsciences.ucdavis.edu/ucstrawberry Scientific Reports Industry Reports Production Bulletins Calendar of Events Annual Pomology Project Report
Thanks to : Lassen Canyon Nursery TRICAL Tom Gordon and Steve Koike
Strawberry production in the USA : 2010 Crop surface area Crop production State Has. % total MT % total California 15,220 67.2 1,089,713 90.00 37,600 acres 1,201,183 tons Florida 3,561 15.7 87,894 7.25 8,800 acres 96,885 tons 48 states 3,881 17.1 33,414 2.75 9,600 acres 36,832 tons Total 22,662 100 1,211,021 100.00 56,000 acres 1,334,900 tons Source: Processing Strawberry Advisory Board of California, 2010 Annual Report
USA & World strawberry production : 2010 Crop surface area Crop production Country Has. % total MT % USA 23,060 9.45 1,292,780 29.6 56,981 acres 1,425,780 tons World (-USA) 220,837 90.55 3,074,109 70.4 545,689 acres 3,388,568 tons Total World 243,897 100 4,366,889 100 602,670 acres 4,813,590 tons Source: http://faostat.fao.org./site/567?desktopdefault.aspx?pageid=567
50-year summary of California strawberry production and per capita consumption of strawberries in the USA California production USA per capita consumption (kgs) Year Has. MT/ha Fresh Frozen Total 1960 4737 15.0 0.64 0.52 1.16 1970 3441 38.1 0.82 0.67 1.49 1980 4453 52.2 0.89 0.62 1.51 1990 8097 48.4 1.42 0.84 2.26 2000 10647 61.8 2.04 0.80 2.84 2010 15226 71.5 3.02 0.99 4.01 Source: Processing Strawberry Advisory Board of California Annual Reports, 1980 & 2010