Plants – Fruit – Strawberry
Plant Patent
2000-10-02
2003-07-15
Campell, Bruce R. (Department: 1661)
Plants
Fruit
Strawberry
Plant Patent
active
PP013986
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The new variety of strawberry plant was selected as a seedling from a controlled breeding plot in Vista, Calif. in or about April 1998. The seedling was selected from among plants germinated from open-pollinated seed gathered from
Fragaria×ananassa
Duchesne ‘Pajaro’ plants, also known as ‘Pajaro’ strawberry. Because the seed was open-pollinated, the other parent variety is not known.
The selected seedlings was grown and asexually propagated from stolons at a nursery near sea level in Bonsall, in San Diego county in California. Further generations of plants were propagated from stolons at a high elevation nursery in Mcdoel, Calif., and extensively tested.
This propagation and testing has confirmed that the new variety has a desirable combination of traits, which remain true to type through successive generations of asexual propagation. Propagation by use of both stolons and micro-tissue culture the been successful, though other means of asexual propagation might be used as well.
The parent variety, ‘Pajaro’, is described in U.S. Plant Pat. No. 4,538. ‘Pajaro’ has been grown on the northern coast of California in a system whereby plants were propagated and held in cold storage until being planted out in summer. The new variety, in contrast, was selected for fall planting and winter fruiting. Compared to ‘Pajaro’, the new variety requires fewer hours of chilling and produces fruit earlier in the season. The new variety produces conical fruit with a meaning mass of 24.2 grams; ‘Pajaro’ produces wedge-shaped fruit with a typical mass of 22.2 grams. The average total yield per plant of the new variety is 1376 grams of fruit per plant; a typical yield for ‘Pajaro’ is 1127 grams. ‘Pajaro’ and the new variety of strawberry were not directly compared in side-by-side testing because ‘Pajaro’ does not thrive in coastal southern California, the environment for which the new variety was selected, and does not set fruit at the same season as the new variety.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a new and distinct variety of strawberry plant,
Fragaria×ananassa
Duchesne ‘NB-1’. The new variety is distinguished from older varieties by a combination of traits, including vigorous growth habit; low chill requirement; ability in winter to flower and set fruit; large conical fruit; good taste, texture, and color of the fruit; and good cold storage qualities of the fruit. The new variety is well adapted for commercial use in coastal southern California.
COMPARISON TO CLOSEST VARIETY
The new variety is believed to be similar in characteristics to ‘Camarosa’ (U.S. Plant Pat. No. 8,708, filed Apr. 1, 1993). ‘Camarosa’ also can be grown in coastal southern California. Therefore, the new variety was tested against ‘Camarosa’ to determine if the new variety was distinct from ‘Camarosa’.
1. The plant of the new variety is more vigorous with a higher number of adventitious crowns.
2. Fruit is larger and remains larger for a longer period through the harvest.
3. Fruit is conic in shape, as distinct from the wedge-shaped fruit of ‘Camarosa’. The conical shape is relatively consistent throught the harvest period.
4. The taste and texture of the fruit after 7 days in cold storage is superior. A taste panel of 10 persons preferred ‘NB -1’ to ‘Camarosa’ 7 to 3 in a blind test when asked to compare overall palatability of fruits stored at 40 degrees Fahrenheit for 7 days in a commercial cooling facility after pre-cooling. Brilliant color of ‘NB1’ fruit is retained better in cold storage than that of ‘Camarosa’.
5. The new variety is less susceptible to powdery mildew and interior crown rot.
6. Calyxes are larger and darker green those of ‘Camarosa’. They tend to be flush with the outline of the fruit or slightly indented. Those of ‘Camarosa’ are often “necked”, or bulging from the outline of the fruit.
7. Fruit of ‘NB-1’ is softer than that of ‘Camarosa’. Tasters preferred the softer texture of ‘NB-1’ as “peach-like” as compared to “apple-like” firmness of ‘Camarosa’ fruit. Tasters rated the texture of ‘NB-1’ as more desirable in a dessert than that of ‘Camarosa’.
8. ‘NB-1’ plants require less irrigation during fruiting season than ‘Camarosa’ plants.
TABLE 1
Characteristic
NB-1
Camarosa
leaf color
dark green
medium green
Munsell color
7.5GY 4/4
5GY 4/3
fruit size and shape
main season
large, conic
large, wedge/conic
early season
large, conic
large, “torpedo”
fruit exterior
color glossy red
glossy dark red
Munsell color
5R 3/10
7.5R 4/11
fruit interior color
slightly white
even dark red
Munsell color
5R 6/10
7.5R 5/13
inflorescence
very long, erect
long, semi-erect
fruit aroma
moderate
low
calyx position
even to indented
even to necked
The new variety was grown side-by-side with ‘Camarosa’ in open field trials during the 1999-2000 growing season in Vista, Calif. The test plot is near sea level, on the coast of southern California.
Comparisons of the two varieties are based on the means of several observations. Field appearance ratings of the plants and fruits are based upon 7 positive observations of ‘NB-1’ to 5 positive observations of ‘Camarosa’.
Grünberg Anne Marie
Redman Mary Jo
Tervo Calif
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