SF 092a: New strawberry varieties for commercial UK production

Sonata, Fenella and Elegance show great promise for use on UK farms for all market outlets.

The aim of this project was to provide scientifically-robust comparative data on the performance of new strawberry varieties in field soils compared with existing commercial varieties when grown under commercial conditions. The specific objectives were

 a) To quantify the relative yield and quality characteristics of new varieties grown under standard condition

 b) To evaluate the susceptibility of new varieties to pest and disease compared with against existing commercial standards

 c) To determine the shelf life and other post-harvest attributes of new varieties and to provide fruit samples for major retailers to evaluate

 d) To demonstrate the varieties to growers in a commercial setting