U.S. patent number PP20,363 [Application Number 12/151,407] was granted by the patent office on 2009-09-29 for strawberry plant named `florida radiance`.
This patent grant is currently assigned to University of Florida Board of Trustees. Invention is credited to Craig Chandler.
United States Patent |
PP20,363 |
Chandler |
September 29, 2009 |
Strawberry plant named `Florida Radiance`
Abstract
A new and distinct variety of strawberry
(Fragaria.times.ananassa), which originated from seed produced by a
hand-pollinated cross between `Winter Dawn` and FL 99-35. The new
strawberry, named `Florida Radiance`, is distinguished by high
December through March production of fruit that are large, firm,
glossy, and resistant to anthracnose fruit rot when grown in west
central Florida or other areas that have a subtropical climate
similar to that of west central Florida.
Inventors: |
Chandler; Craig (Tampa,
FL) |
Assignee: |
University of Florida Board of
Trustees (Gainesville, FL)
|
Family
ID: |
41109951 |
Appl.
No.: |
12/151,407 |
Filed: |
May 7, 2008 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
PLT/208 |
Current CPC
Class: |
A01H
6/7409 (20180501); A01H 5/08 (20130101) |
Current International
Class: |
A01H
5/00 (20060101) |
Field of
Search: |
;PLT/208 |
Primary Examiner: Para; Annette H
Claims
I claim:
1. A new and distinct strawberry plant as illustrated and
described, characterized by 1) resistance to anthracnose fruit rot,
and 2) high December through March production of large, glossy
fruit when grown in west central Florida.
Description
Botanical designation: Fragaria.times.ananassa Duchesne.
BACKGROUND OF THE NEW VARIETY
The present invention relates to a new and distinct variety of
strawberry (Fragaria.times.ananassa Duchesne) plant that is named
`Florida Radiance` and more particularly to a strawberry plant that
is distinguished by its high fruit yield during the winter in west
central Florida, as well as its ability to produce large, glossy
fruit that are resistant to infection by Colletotrichum acutatum.
Asexual propagation was performed at Dover, Fla. where the
selection was made and plants were tested. Contrast is made to
`Strawberry Festival` (U.S. Plant Pat. No. 14,739), currently the
dominant variety in Hillsborough County, Fla., for reliable
description. This new variety is a promising candidate for
commercial success because it produces high yields of firm,
attractive fruit during a desirable market window.
ORIGIN OF THE VARIETY
This strawberry plant (genotype) originated in a strawberry
breeding plot at Dover, Fla. The seed parent was `Winter Dawn`
(U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/093,191), a strawberry variety
with high early-season yield potential and ability to produce large
primary and secondary fruit. The pollen parent was FL 99-35 (not
patented), a University of Florida breeding selection with the
ability to produce firm, attractive fruit. The seeds resulting from
the controlled hybridization were germinated in a greenhouse and
the resulting seedlings were planted and allowed to produce
daughter plants by asexual propagation (i.e. by runners). Two
daughter plants from each seedling were transplanted to raised
beds, where they fruited. `Florida Radiance` strawberry (as
represented by two daughter plants from the original seedling)
exhibited attractive fruit, and therefore was selected for further
evaluation. `Florida Radiance` was the 116th selection numbered in
the 2001 02 stage 1 trial, and thus was designated FL 01-116. It
has been asexually propagated by runners, annually, and further
test plantings have established that the vegetative and fruit
characteristics of the propagules are identical to the initial two
daughter plants.
SUMMARY OF THE VARETY
`Florida Radiance`, when grown in a subtropical fall and winter
climate, is set apart from all other strawberry plants by a
combination of the following characteristics: ability to produced
high yields of large, firm, glossy fruit throughout the main
production period; ease of harvest; and resistance to anthracnose
fruit rot.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING
The accompanying photographs show a typical specimen of the plant
and fruit as seen in early March in west central Florida.
DETAILED BOTANICAL DESCRIPTION
The following botanical description is that of mature plants of the
variety grown under the ecological conditions (warm days, cool
nights) prevailing at Balm, Fla. in March. Colors are described
using a standard Royal Horticultural Society (R.H.S.) Color
Chart.
`Florida Radiance` is a short day cultivar. Average height and
width for mature plants is 21 cm and 29 cm respectively. Average
petiole length and diameter is 15.5 cm and 2.8 mm respectively, and
petioles have a light to medium pubescence. Average length and
breadth of terminal leaflets is 66 and 58 mm respectively. Average
length and breadth of secondary leaflets is 54 and 48 mm
respectively. Leaflet margins are crenate and average 20 serrations
per terminal leaflet, and 17 per secondary leaflet. The upper leaf
surface is a dark grey green (RHS 139B); the lower leaf surface is
a light grey green (RHS 139C); and the petiole is a medium yellow
green (RHS 145A). Flowers open below the canopy, and have 6 to 8
petals and an average of 26 stamens. Individual petals have a
length of 12 mm and a width of 10 mm. The diameter of the corolla
(i.e. the petals collectively) is 32 mm. The color of the calyx is
yellow green (RHS 141B). Pedicels attached to mature primary fruit
are 10.8 to 12.0 cm long, with branching of the inflorescence
usually occurring very close to the crown. At peak production, the
plant will have 3 to 4 crowns, each producing a truss, and each
truss will have three to seven pedicels. Mean fruit weight is
greater than that of `Strawberry Festival` (Table 1 and 2). Primary
fruit are mostly medium conic in shape (weighing 30 40 g), with
some being asymmetrical, and some early season fruit being
elongated; whereas secondary and tertiary fruit are mostly short to
medium conic (weighing 10 30 g). Occasionally, a primary fruit of
`Florida Radiance` will have a small hollow cavity at its center,
but a cavity in a secondary and tertiary fruit of this cultivar is
rarely, if ever, seen. The achenes are slightly sunken, giving the
fruit a smooth appearance. External fruit color is a glossy bright
(RHS 34B) to dark red (RHS 181A) (depending on maturity). `Florida
Radiance` fruit are not significantly different in lightness than
`Strawberry Festival` fruit (Table 3). The internal color of
`Florida Radiance` fruit is a warm red (RHS 34A). The calyx is
generally medium to large in size and attractive. Fruit of `Florida
Radiance` are firm (Table 3), yet juicy. We consider the flavor of
the fruit to be acceptable, and good under ideal growing
conditions, but it is usually not as highly regarded as fruit of
`Strawberry Festival` that has been harvested fully mature (Table
4). The preferred planting date for `Florida Radiance` is October
5th to October 15th. Yields of `Florida Radiance` were
complementary to those of `Strawberry Festival` during both the
2003 04 and 2004 05 seasons (Tables 1 and 2). `Florida Radiance`
had higher production than `Strawberry Festival` in February, while
`Strawberry Festival` had higher production than `Florida Radiance`
in January. `Florida Radiance` is resistant to one of the most
serious disease problems on strawberry in Florida: anthracnose
fruit rot (caused by Colletotrichum acutatum). In an unsprayed
trial during the 2007 08 season, only 3% of the `Florida Radiance`
fruit harvested from mid February to mid March showed symptoms of
anthracnose fruit rot, compared to 53% for `Treasure` (U.S. Plant
Pat. No. 12,414), the susceptible control (N. Peres, unpublished
data). But `Florida Radiance` is susceptible to crown rots (C. K.
Chandler, personal observations), which are most likely caused by
C. gloeosporioides or Phytophthora spp. The susceptibility of
`Florida Radiance` to the twospotted spider mite (Tetranychus
urticae Koch) is unknown, but a serious infestation has not yet
been observed in research center or commercial trials.
TABLE-US-00001 TABLE 1 Performance of strawberry cultivars at
Dover, Fla. during the 2003-04 season. Marketable yield (g/plant)
Wt/ Cultivar December January February March Total fruit.sup.z (g)
F. 65 a.sup.y 77 b 270 a 435 a 847 a 21.2 a Radiance S. Festival 44
a.sup. 112 a 84 b 642 a 881 a 18.5 b .sup.zMean fruit weight was
determined by dividing total marketable fruit yield per plot by
total marketable fruit number per plot. .sup.yMeans based on four
replications of 10 plants each. Mean separation within columns by
Fisher's protected LSD test, P .ltoreq. 0.05.
TABLE-US-00002 TABLE 2 Performance of strawberry cultivars at
Dover, Fla. during the 2004-05 season. Marketable yield (g/plant)
Wt/ Cultivar December January February March Total fruit.sup.z (g)
F. 86 a.sup.y 82 b 321 a 558 a 1047 a 22.4 a Radiance S. Festival
37 b.sup. 144 a 155 b 592 a 928 b 20.6 b .sup.zMean fruit weight
was determined by dividing total marketable fruit yield per plot by
total marketable fruit number per plot. .sup.yMeans based on four
replications of 10 plants each. Mean separation within columns by
Fisher's protected LSD test, P .ltoreq. 0.05.
TABLE-US-00003 TABLE 3 Physical and chemical characteristics of
strawberry fruit harvested at Floral City, Fla. 12 Feb. 2008.sup.z.
Surface color Soluble Titratable acidity Cultivar L value.sup.y
Firmness.sup.x solids (%) (% citric acid) S. Radiance 37.5 0.44 6.8
0.81 S. Festival 38.1 0.36 7.8 0.84 .sup.zL and firmness values are
the average of eight observations. .sup.yL value is a measure of
lightness and darkness, with 0 being totally black and 100 being
totally white. .sup.xFirmness is expressed as kilograms of force to
penetrate the fruit to a depth of 10 mm with a 5 mm diameter
probe.
TABLE-US-00004 TABLE 4 Sensory characteristics of strawberry fruit
harvested at Floral City, Fla. 12 Feb. 2008.sup.z. Cultivar
Appearance Color Firmness Flavor Sweetness F. Radiance 6.8 a 6.8 a
6.6 b 5.7 b 5.5 b S. Festival 7.1 a 6.9 a 7.1 a 6.8 a 6.3 a
.sup.zMeans based on the ratings of 100 untrained panelists. Mean
separation within columns by Tukey's test, P .ltoreq. 0.05.
Characteristics are rated on a 1-9 hedonic scale, with 1 = dislike
extremely, 5 = neither like nor dislike, and 9 = like
extremely.
* * * * *