Anticipating the phaseout of methyl bromide, the USDA-ARS small fruit breeding program at Beltsville, Md., discontinued soil fumigation in strawberry breeding and selection trials in the mid 1990s. To address resulting weed and pathogen pests, a modified or advanced matted row system was developed. This system uses matted row-type culture, established on raised beds with subsurface drip irrigation and organic mulch. The mulch is the residue of a killed cover crop that fixes some nitrogen and provides an economical, biodegradable mulch for suppressing weeds and reducing erosion. Since 1996, the small fruit breeding program has conducted replicated performance trials on both advanced matted row and a regional adaptation of annual hill plasticulture. Both of these systems were managed without methyl bromide fumigation or fungicide application. Data from these trials were used to compare advanced matted row and plasticulture for yield, fruit quality and harvest season. Yield for the two systems was genotype dependent, and the advanced matted row system had later production and slightly lower fruit quality.

Strawberry (`Chandler') plants were grown in a greenhouse hydroponic culture system from 28 Apr. to 20 July to produce runners (stolons) with several daughter plants. By mid-July, each `Chandler' plant had developed about 30 daughter plants on 12 runners with 1 to 6 daughter plants on each runner. Daughter plants varied in weight from <0.9 to >10 g. Daughter plant weight and position on the runner affected new root development on plug plants during the first 7 days under mist irrigation. At 3 weeks, 87% of daughter plants that weighed <0.9 g and at least 96% of daughter plants that weighed >1.0 g were rated acceptable for field transplanting, respectively. The percentage of daughter plants from second to tenth node position that were rated acceptable for field planting ranged from 98% to 88%, respectively. Runner production in the fall was not affected by either position on the runner or weight at the time of daughter plant harvest. But, larger daughter plants produced more branch crowns than did smaller daughter plants in the fall. Transplant survival in the field was 100%. In the spring, `Chandler' plants produced a 10% greater yield from daughter plants that weighed 9.9 g compared to those that weighed only 0.9 g.

Additional index words. Fragaria 3ananassa, breeding, disease resistance 'Flavorfest', a ''June-bearing'' or ''shortday'' strawberry (Fragaria •ananassa Duch. ex Rozier) cultivar, was introduced for propagation to nurseries in Dec. 2012 by the U.S. Department of Agriculture-Agricultural Research Service (USDA-ARS). 'Flavorfest' was selected for its high yield of flavorful large fruits and resistance to anthracnose fruit and crown rots (caused by Colletotrichum acutatum J.H. Simmonds). The large, bright red fruits appear distinctively plump throughout a long midseason, fruiting once a year from Maine through North Carolina. ʻFlavor-festʼ, with exceptional flavor and high yield, is recommended as an anthracnose-resistant cultivar for annual plastic-culture system and matted row production from Zones 4b-8a. Origin 'Flavorfest' was derived from a crosspollination of two USDA-ARS selections, B759 by B786, planned in 1995 by the late Dr. Gene Galletta, USDA-ARS, Beltsville, MD. The pedigree is 10 generations deep (Fig. 1) and includes cultivars and breeding selections from New York, North Carolina, New Jersey, Tennessee, and Scotland. The pedigree is incomplete, in that the parentage of a New Jersey breeding selection, three

Tissue-culture derived mother plants were established in a greenhouse suspended-gutter, nutrient-film technique growing system to evaluate runner tip productivity in the system. Effects of cultivar (`Allstar', `Chandler', `Latestar', `Northeaster', and USDA selection B 27) and duration (0, 1, or 2 months) of cold storage at 1 °C on tip viability, rooting success, and performance in fruit production were determined. The average number and weight of runner tips produced in the gutter production system, the capacity of runner tips to form cohesively rooted plug plants, and the number and length of adventitious roots produced by runner tips varied significantly among the cultivars and the three storage durations (0, 1, or 2 months). In the field, plants produced from runner tips stored for 2 months produced more runners than plants produced from freshly harvested runner tips. Crown number differed among the cultivars, but was not affected by cold storage treatment. No treatment differences were noted for the fruit harvest parameters evaluated. The results suggest that the transplants derived from mother plants grown in a greenhouse-based soilless system can be useful for annual plasticulture strawberry production in colder climates. Although long periods of cold storage of runner tips resulted in lower tip-to-transplant conversion ratios, field performance of transplants was not adversely affected. Additional research is needed to improve greenhouse strawberry production practices for increasing runner output and storage conditions that maintain the integrity of cold-stored runner tips. Without these improvements it is unlikely that soilless runner tip production will become a widely accepted technique that would replace the field nursery tip production method currently used by commercial strawberry propagators.

Additional index words. Fragaria 3ananassa, fruit breeding, disease resistance, postharvest, shelf life 'Keepsake', a midseason, ''spring-bearing'' or ''short-day'' strawberry (Fragaria •ananassa Duch. ex Rozier), is a result of a U.S. Department of Agriculture Agricultural Research Service (USDA-ARS) effort at Beltsville, MD, to develop strawberries with increased shelf life. Compared with other current cultivars and breeding selections evaluated after 2 weeks in cold storage, 'Keepsake' strawberries had a low proportion of degraded and decayed fruits. The fruits have outstanding flavor with high soluble solids and moderate acidity. They have a pleasing texture and are juicy when eaten. 'Keepsake' has consistently provided competitive yields and low field decay with no fumigation or fungicides in annual plasticulture at Beltsville, MD. 'Keepsake' fruits are attractive, with good size, color, gloss, and a showy calyx. They are firm and tough enough for handling. 'Keepsake' is expected to be best adapted to the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern United States and adjacent areas.