Effect of Time of Planting and Plant Size on the Productivity of ‘Festival’ and ‘Florida Fortuna’ Strawberry Plants in a Subtropical Environment

Abstract

<jats:p>The effect of time of planting and plant size on the performance of ‘Festival’ and ‘Florida Fortuna’ strawberry (<jats:italic>Fragaria ×ananassa</jats:italic>) plants was studied at Nambour in southeastern Queensland, Australia, over 2 years. The main objective of the work was to determine whether small plants yielded proportionally less than large plants as planting was delayed. First, bare-rooted transplants of ‘Festival’ were divided into small (crown diameters ranging from 6 to 10 mm) or large plants (10 to 17 mm) and planted in late March, mid-April, or late April. Second, transplants of ‘Florida Fortuna’ were divided into small (5 to 8 mm) or large plants (8 to 17 mm) and planted in early April, mid-April, or early May. The early planting for each cultivar corresponded with the time that the transplants are first available from commercial strawberry nurseries. Yields were generally greater in plants planted in late March/early April compared with plants planted later. Differences in yield between the small and large plants were consistent across the different times of planting, with the small plants always having lower yields. Small transplants are an issue for the productivity of strawberry fields in this environment whether they are planted early or late. Producers should consider paying a premium for large transplants delivered early in the season.</jats:p>

The growth and productivity of ‘Festival’ strawberry plants growing in a subtropical environment

“…In other studies, Whitaker et al (2012) noted that 'Florida Fortuna' known as 'Florida Radiance' in the USA has larger fruit than 'Festival' throughout the growing season. We also found that 'Florida Fortuna' had larger fruit than 'Festival' in an earlier experiment in Queensland (Menzel & Smith 2012). Efforts need to be made to develop and select cultivars that have large fruit at the end of the season during warm weather in subtropical areas.…”

Increased growth response of strawberry roots to a commercial extract from Durvillaea potatorum and Ascophyllum nodosum

“…In Australia, runners of short-day cultivars, like Fortuna, are harvested earlier (March/April) in the nursery sector than runners of day-neutral cultivars, like Albion (May/June). This is because March is the optimum time for planting runners of short-day cultivars in the fruit sector to achieve high yields (Menzel and Smith 2011 , 2012 ). Runners harvested in the nursery sector in March can be less mature (Menzel and Smith 2011 ) and have less developed root systems than runners harvested later in the season.…”

Physical and chemical quality characteristics and antioxidant properties of strawberry cultivars (Fragaria × ananassa Duch.) in Greece: assessment of their sensory impact

“…Production is concentrated mainly in western Greece, where the climate conditions favor early fruit ripening onset in greenhouses from late December. Three cultivars represent the main part of commercial strawberry acreage in western Greece: ‘Camarosa’ is the main cultivar producing firm and attractive fruits with desirable post‐harvest properties; ‘Fortuna’ (or ‘Florida Fortuna’) has special early yielding characteristics, and ‘Sabrina’ is a relatively new cultivar (2010) producing attractive and sweet fruits . Until now, there has been no extensive study of the quality and sensory acceptance of the commercial products of those cultivars in Greece, or of variation of FaFAD1 expression and lactone production for ‘Florida Fortuna’ and ‘Sabrina’.…”