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

Field studies were initiated in the 2013-14 and 2014-15 growing seasons to evaluate the potential of soil solarization (SS) treatments for their efficacy on weed control and crop yields and to compare SS to 1,3-dichloropropene (1,3-D)+chloropicrin (Pic) fumigation. Each replicate was a bed with dimension 10.6 m long by 0.8 m wide on top. The center 4.6 m length of each bed, referred to as plots, was used for strawberry plug transplanting and data collection. Treatments included: i) 1,3-D+Pic (39% 1,3-dichloropropene+59.6% chloropicrin) that was shank-fumigated in beds at 157 kg ha−1and covered with VIF on August 30 in both seasons; ii) SS for a 6 wk duration initiated on August 15, 2013 and August 21, 2014 by covering the bed with 1 mil clear polyethylene tarp; iii) SS for a 4wk duration initiated on September 6, 2013 and September 3, 2014; iv) SS 4 wk treatment initiated September 6, 2013 and September 3, 2014 and replaced with black VIF on October 4, 2013 and October 1, 2014 and v) a nontreated control covered with black VIF on October 4, 2013 and October 1, 2014. In both seasons, following completion of the preplant treatments, ‘Chandler’ strawberry was planted in two rows at a 36 cm in-row spacing in plots during the first wk of October. Over both seasons, the 6 wk SS treatment consistently lowered the weed density compared to the nontreated control. Weed density in the 6wk SS treatment was not statistically different from the 4wk SS treatments in the 2013-14 growing season. In both seasons, crop yield in the 4 wk SS was significantly lower than other treatments.

Strawberries (Fragaria ×ananassa) are one of the major high-value crops in North America. There is increasing interest in commercial strawberry production for local markets in Virginia and surrounding states, but information on the performance of newer cultivars is extremely limited. We tested 10 commercially available June-bearing cultivars [Benicia, Camarosa, Camino Real, Chandler, Strawberry Festival, Flavorfest, FL Radiance, Treasure, Sweet Charlie, and Winterstar™ (FL 05-107)] and two day-neutral cultivars (Albion and San Andreas) for their spring and summer fruiting capacity in Virginia production systems in a randomized, replicated study, at three on-farm locations. Data were collected on vegetative growth, yield performance, fruit quality, sweetness, and fruit diameter. Cultivars with the highest total yields averaged across all three locations were Benicia, Camino Real, Chandler, and Camarosa. ‘Camino Real’ had the highest marketable yield at all three locations, not significantly different from ‘Chandler’, and ‘Benicia’ and ‘Camarosa’ had the highest marketable yield at two of the three locations. ‘Flavorfest’ and ‘Sweet Charlie’ had the highest total soluble solids concentration for the harvest season. Overall, for all locations, ‘Benicia’ and ‘Camino Real’ had the largest fruit diameter, and ‘Strawberry Festival’ had the smallest fruit diameter.

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