There is a need in west central Florida and other winter strawberry (Fragaria xananassa Duchesne) production areas for an early ripening cultivar to replace or be an alternative to \u27Sweetcharlie\u27 (Chandleretal., 1997a). \u27Sweet Charlie\u27 has benefitted the Florida strawberry industry through its relatively high production of fruit early in the season, when market prices are generally high. But the average fruit size is small, and the texture of its fruit is often soft, making shipment and shelf life of \u27Sweet Charlie\u27 problematic. \u27Earlibrite\u27 strawberry has produced high early-season (December through February) yields of large, flavorful fruit at the Univ. of Florida\u27s Gulf Coast Research and Education Center in Dover (GCRECD over) and in three commercial fields in westcentral Florida. It is recommended for trial in areas with mild winter climates. The clone was named ‘Earlibrite’ because of its high early season production of bright red fruit, and to honor Earl Albregts, a soil scientist who spent his entire professional career (1967-96) at GCREC-Dover

Chandler, C. K.

Crocker, T. E.

Dunigan, David

Legard, D. E.

Sims, C. A.

English

DigitalCommons@University of Nebraska

University of Nebraska - Lincoln DigitalCommons@University of Nebraska - Lincoln Papers in Plant Pathology Plant Pathology Department 12-2000 'Earlibrite' Strawberry C. K. Chandler Gulf Coast Research and Education Center, University of Florida D. E. Legard Gulf Coast Research and Education Center, University of Florida David Dunigan University of Nebraska-Lincoln, ddunigan2@unl.edu T. E. Crocker University of Florida, Gainesville C. A. Sims University of Florida, Gainesville Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.unl.edu/plantpathpapers  Part of the Plant Pathology Commons Chandler, C. K.; Legard, D. E.; Dunigan, David; Crocker, T. E.; and Sims, C. A., "'Earlibrite' Strawberry" (2000). Papers in Plant Pathology. 126. https://digitalcommons.unl.edu/plantpathpapers/126 This Article is brought to you for free and open access by the Plant Pathology Department at DigitalCommons@University of Nebraska - Lincoln. It has been accepted for inclusion in Papers in Plant Pathology by an authorized administrator of DigitalCommons@University of Nebraska - Lincoln. 'Earlibrite' Strawberry C.K. Chandler1, D.E. Legard2, and D.D. Dunigan3 Gulf Coast Research and Education Center, University of Florida, 13138 Lewis Gallagher Road, Dover, FL 33527 T.E. Crocker4 Horticultural Sciences Department, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL 3261 1-0690 C.A. Simss Food Science and Human Nutrition Department, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL 3261 1-0690 Additional index words. Fragaria xananassa, fruit breeding There is a need in west central Florida and other winter strawberry (Fragaria xananassa Duchesne) production areas for an early ripen- ing cultivar to replace or be an alternative to 'Sweetcharlie' (Chandleretal., 1997a). 'Sweet Charlie' has benefitted the Florida strawberry industry through its relatively high production of fruit early in the season, when market prices are generally high. But the average fruit size is small, and the texture of its fruit is often soft, making shipment and shelf life of 'Sweet Received for publication 3 Jan. 2000. Accepted for ~ublication 31 Mav 2000. Florida Agricultural Ex- periment Station journal Series no.K-07299. The Charlie' problematic. 'Earlibrite' strawberry has produced high early-season (December through February) yields of large, flavorful fruit at the Univ. of Florida's Gulf Coast Re- search andEducationCenter inDover (GCREC- Dover) and in three commercial fields in west- central Florida. It is recommended for trial in areas with mild winter climates. The clone was named 'Earlibrite' because of its high early- season production of bright red fruit, and to honor Earl Albregts, a soil scientist who spent his entire professional career (1967-96) at GCREC-Dover. Origin cost of publishing this paper was defrayed in part by the payment of page charges. Under postal regula- a 1993 cross tions, this paper therefore must be hereby marked between 'Rosa Linda' (Chandler et a]., 1997b) advertisem>n? solely to indicate this fact.. and FL 90-38 (Fig. 1). 'Rosa Linda', a 1996 'Associate Professor of Horticultural Sciences. release from the Florida Agricultural Experi- E-mail address: ckc@gnv.ifas.ufl.edu ment Station, was used as aparent because of its 'Assistant Professor of Plant Pathology. 'Research Scientist, Biotechnology. high early-season yield potential and its desir- iProfessor of Horticultural Sciences. able fruit shape. FL 90-38, a 1991 selection, ZProfessor of Food Science and Human Nutrition. was used as a parent primarily because of its ability to produce attractive fruit early in the season. The original plant of 'Earlibrite' was selectedin 1993 froma fieldnursery at GCREC- Dover. 'Earlibrite', tested as selection FL 93- 100, has been evaluated in replicated plot trials at this location and in observational trials for several years at the Univ. of Florida's Suwannee Valley Research and Education Center, Live Oak, in north central Florida. Replicated plot trials were limited to only one location because most of Florida's 2500 ha of strawberries are within a 30-km radius of the Dover center [Florida Agricultural Statistics (www.nass. usda.gov/fl)]. Strawberries in Florida are grown using the annual hill cultural system (Hancock, 1999). In the replicated trials at Dover, fresh transplants with leaves intact were planted each October through black polyethylene mulch on two-row raised beds. Beds were fumigated with a mixture of methyl bromide (98%) and chloropicrin (trichloro- nitromethane) (2%) prior to planting. Three plots (1995) or four plots (1996 and 1997) of each clone, were planted in a randomized complete-blockdesign. Plotscontained loplants in the 1995-96 and 1997-98 seasons, and 16 plants in the 1996-97 season. Plants were spaced 38 cm apart in the row, with 30 cm between rows. Ripe fruit were harvested, graded, counted, and weighed twice a week from December through March. Each season's data were analyzed separately because of cultivar, planting date, and plant source differences between seasons. For sensory analysis, ripe fruit was harvested in the morning, cooled to 2 "C, and transported to the Food Science and Human Nutrition Devt. in Gainesville. Trained panelists evaluated samples for color uniformity, strawberry flavor intensity, sweet- ness, and firmness, as described by Sims et al. (1997). Samples were evaluated from two harvest dates (February and March) in 1997, and three harvest dates (January, February, and March) in 1998. Sequoia FL 73-1889 FL 68-137 EL 77-16 Sequoia Rosa Linda I FL 80-45 Tioga FL 90 Dover FL-1158 Earlibrite r F L  83-37 LA 2556 { FL 72-1198 sequoia L Tioga {::zfFI. 78-1268 FL Dover 74-1320 FL 72-368 cioga --l_ Dabreak FL 85-214 FL 6 9 - 2 6 6 C  Dabreak FL 69-26 Sequoia Sequoia Fig. 1. Pedigree of 'Earlibrite' strawberry. HORTSCIENCE, VOL. 35(7), DECEMBER 2000 Table 1. Performance of 'Earlibrite' strawberry compared with two standard cultivars grown at Dover, Fla.' Marketable yieldy (glplant) Cultivar December January February March Total Wt/fruit' (g) Earlibrite Sweet Charlie Oso Grande Earlibrite Sweet Charlie Camarosa Earlibrite Sweet Charlie Camarosa Transplants were obtained from the following nursery locations: 'Earlibrite' from Florida in 1995 and 1997, and Quebec in 1996; 'Sweet Charlie' from Ontario in 1995, Quebec in 1996, and Florida in 1997; 'Oso Grande' from Ontario; and 'Camarosa' from Ontario in 1996, and North Carolina in 1997. Planting dates were 9 Nov. 1995,15 Oct. 1996, and 9 Oct. 1997. Walues represent mean per plant yield for three 10-plant plots in 1995-96, four 16-plant plots in 1996-97, and four 10-plant plots in 1997-98. "Mean fruit weight was determined by dividing total marketable fruit yield per plot by total marketable fruit number per plot. "Mean separation within columns and seasons by Fisher's protected LSD test, P 10.05. Fig. 2. 'Earlibrite' strawberry. Table 2. Sensory characteristics of 'Earlibrite' strawberry fruit compared with that of two standard cultivars grown at Dover, Fla.' Color Flavor Cultivar uniformityy intensityy Sweetnessy Firmnessy 1996-97 Earlibrite 9.5 (1.9) 7.4 (1.25) 6.7 (1.05) 7.7 (0.10) Sweet Charlie 9.5 (1.5) 6.9 (0.70) 6.4 (1 .O) 6.4 (0.35) Camarosa 1 1. I (0.25) 8.5 (0.05) 7.4 (0.15) 10.2 (0.8) 1997-98 Earlibrite 8.9 (0.33) 8.2 (0.64) 7.3 (0.69) 10.2 (0.32) Sweet Charlie 9.9 (0.42) 7.8 (0.54) 7.2 (0.53) 8.2 (0.57) Camarosa 9.7 (0.79) 7.5 (0.35) 6.0 (0.26) 1 1.7 (0.62) 'Means and (SES) based on the ratings of 12 to 15 trained panelists who rated samples of fruit from each cultivar twice in 1997 and three times in 1998. YRating scale 1 to 15, with a higher score indicating more uniform color, more strawberry flavor intensity, more sweetness, and more firmness. Description 'Earlibrite' is a short-day cultivar. It has a more compact plant habit than 'Sweet Charlie' or 'Camarosa' (US. plant patent no. 8708), currently the standard strawberry cultivars grown in west-central Florida. Average petiole length is 108 mm. Average length and breadth is 81 and 71 mm, respectively, for terminal leaflets, and 75 and 72 mm, respectively for secondary ones. Leaflet margins are crenate and average 23 serrations per leaflet. The com- pact plant habit leads to the production of fruit that are exposed, and therefore easy to harvest. This exposure, however, also makes the fruit vulnerable to rain damage (i.e. cracking and cat-facing). Pedicels attached to mature pri- mary fruit are 125 to 167 mmlong, withbranch- ing of the inflorescence occurring close to the crown. Fruit of 'Earlibrite' tend to be very large; average weight of marketable fruit was over 20 g in trials at GCREC-Dover (Table 1). Large fruit size is an important breeding objec- tive, and a key factor in the improvement of harvest efficiency (Rosati, 1993). Primary fruit are often globose-conic in shape, whereas sec- ondary and tertiary fruit are conic to wedge- shaped (Fig. 2). External fruit color is a deep- orange red and internal color is an orange-red (1805 and Pantone W m  Red, respectively, in the Pantone@ Color Formula Guide). The calyx is generally medium in size and slightly re- curved, a feature that may provide some struc- tural resistance to Botrytis fruit rot (caused by Botrytis cinerLa Pers.ex Fr.). Fruit of 'Earlibrite' are moderately firm and have a flavor intensity and sweetness comparable to 'Sweet Charlie' and 'Camarosa', as determined by a trained taste panel (Table 2). 'Earlibrite' also has some of the aromatic qualities of its parent 'Rosa Linda'. Performance In the replicated trials at GCREC-Dover, 'Earlibrite' produced total yields not signifi- cantly different than those of the standard cul- tivars (Table l); in the 1996-97 trial, December fruit yield was significantly higher than 'Sweet Charlie' and 'Camarosa'. The 1996-97 trial was the only trial reported in Table 1 where the plants of 'Earlibrite', 'Sweet Charlie', and 'Camarosa' all came from the same general nursery area. Nursery location can influence early fruit yield in the Florida winter production system (Chandler et al., 1989). Early season fruit yields of 'Earlibrite' grown in three com- mercial fields in the Dover/Plant City area during the 1999-2000 season were comparable to those of 'Sweet Charlie'. 'Earlibrite' has also been an early producer of large fruit in the observational plots in north Florida, but in this location it generally lacks vigor and is less productive than 'Camarosa' or 'Chandler'. 'Earlibrite' is susceptible to anthracnose fruit rot (caused by Colletotrichum acutatum Simmonds), but, in most years, this disease has not been a serious problem. We anticipate that growers will finish harvesting 'Earlibrite' in early March, which is typically before environ- mental conditions are favorable for disease development. 'Earlibrite' appears to be less susceptible than 'Sweet Charlie' to Botrytis fruit rot and less susceptible than 'Camarosa' to powdery mildew (caused by Sphaerotheca macularis [Wallr.:Fr.] Jacz. F. sp. Fragariae Peries). 'Earlibrite' can, however, be severely affected by the twospotted spider mite (Tetranychus urticae Koch). Availability The Florida Agricultural Experiment Sta- tion at the Univ. of Florida's Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences has applied for aU.S. plant patent on 'Earlibrite', and this cultivar has been uniquely characterized using a set of oli- gonucleotide DNA primers in randomly ampli- fied polymorphic DNA (RAPD) analysis. 'Earlibrite' is licensed to the Florida Straw- beny Growers Association by Florida Founda- tion Seed Producers, Inc. Information on nurs- eries sub-licensed to propagate 'Earlibrite' can be obtained from the Florida Strawberry Grow- ers Association, P.O. Drawer 2550, Plant City, FL 33564. Literature Cited Chandler, C.K., E.E. Albregts, C.M. Howard, and J.K. Brecht. 1997. 'Sweet Charlie' strawbeny. HortScience 32:1132-1133. Chandler, C.K., E.E. Albregts, C.M. Howard, and A. Dale. 1989. Influence of propagation site on the fruiting of three strawberry clones grown in a Florida winter production system. Proc. Fla. State Hort. Soc. 102:310-312. Chandler, C.K. D.E. Legard, and C.A. Sims. 1997. 'Rosa Linda' strawberry. HortScience 32: 1134- 1135. Hancock, J.F. 1999. Strawberries. CAB Intl., New York. Rosati, P. 1993. Recenttrendsin strawberry production and research: An overview. Acta Hort. 348:23- 44. Sims, C.A., C.K. Chandler, J.S. Eastridge, and R.R. Golaszewsk. 1997. Seasonal changes in fruit quality of several strawberry genotypes grown in Florida. Adv. Strawberry Res. 16:48-56 

\u27Earlibrite\u27 Strawberry

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\u27Earlibrite\u27 Strawberry

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