USPP7876P

USPP7876P - Strawberry plant Shalom

Info

Publication number: USPP7876P
Application number: US07/735,695
Authority: US
Inventors: Eva Izsak; Shamai Izhar
Original assignee: Agricultural Research Organization of Israel Ministry of Agriculture
Current assignee: Agricultural Research Organization of Israel Ministry of Agriculture
Priority date: 1989-03-17
Filing date: 1991-07-25
Publication date: 1992-06-02
Anticipated expiration: 2010-03-06

Abstract

A new and distinct variety of strawberry (Fragaria L.) called "Shalom" is disclosed. The variety is a cross between "Rachel" and "Douglas", which results in a variety that flowers several months earlier than other known strawberry varieties.

Description

This is a continuation of application Ser. No. 07/489,407 filed Mar. 6, 1990, now abandoned.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to a new and distinct variety of strawberry (Fragaria L.) called "Shalom". The variety was developed from an organized scientifically designated breeding program carried out at the Agricultural Research Organization, the Volcani Center, Bet Dagan, Israel. The variety is the product of selection of seedlings resulting from crosses between the strawberry varieties "Rachel" and "Douglas". The variety was asexually vegetatively propagated through runners and the reproduction ran true.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The new variety "Shalom" resembles the variety "Douglas" and is able to grow in September and produce fruit starting in November and lasting until summer. The production of fruit beginning in November is two months earlier than any known variety of Fragaria L. The fruit of the "Shalom" variety is characterized by good taste, good shape and size as well as a long shelf life.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES

FIG. 1. Photograph of the "Shalom" variety illustrating the foliage and fruit.

FIG. 2. Photograph of the "Shalom" variety illustrating the fruit.

FIG. 3. Photograph of the "Shalom" variety illustrating the entire plant with both flowers and fruit.

DETAILED BOTANICAL DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

The "Shalom" variety was grown in winter under polyethylene tunnels in Israel. "Shalom" is a short day variety that flowers earlier than other known short day length strawberry varieties. Flowering and fruit production is not affected by the use of polyethylene wind tunnels. This production procedure is utilized in normal agricultural practices by the skilled artisan and does not involve temperature or light control. Mother plants were stored at 0° C. from January through April. They were then planted in the nursery without further treatment. Runners with plantlets were produced during summer. These young plantlets were collected from the nursery in September and transferred to raised beds. Average temperatures at that time of the year are 30° C. during the day and 22° C. at night. Water and fertilizers were applied through drip irrigation. An example of an optimum planting date is between September 15th to the 20th with the approximate date of flowering on October 20, and the approximate date of first fruiting on November 20. "Shalom" flowering is not induced by chilling, but by natural exposure to short day length (long nights) characteristic of late fall and early winter. Color readings described herein were taken under natural light conditions and color identifications were made by reference to the Royal Horticultural Society Colour Chart (RHSCC), except where common terms of color definition are employed.

The pertinent characteristics of the present invention are presented in Table 1 and Table 2. Additionally, the variety "Shalom" (1) has no tendency toward fruit malformation; (2) disease resistance appears normal in that no particular problematic conditions arose during trials; and (3) the type of bearing is not remontant (e.g., "Shalom" blooms perpetuously, during late fall and winter).

The fruit is longer than broad, with primary, secondary and tertiary fruit possessing a moderately distinct shape (Table 2). The fruit is firm with a dark red color (Table 2).

The variety "Shalom" flowers several months earlier than known strawberry varieties. One of closest known varieties would be "Karina" (Table 1) as well as the new varieties under co-pending U.S. patent application Ser. Nos. 07/735,969 ("Sharon"), 07/735,968 ("Dorit"), 07/735,967 ("Smadar"), and 07/435,970 ("Saaid"). Additionally, early flowering results in early fruit production for "Shalom" and the four co-pending varieties (Table 3). Total Soluble Solids (TSS), percent acidity and aroma are presented in Table 4 by comparison to the varieties listed in Table 3.

              TABLE 1                                                     
______________________________________                                    
PLANT CHARACTERISTICS OF "SHALOM"                                         
MORPHOLOGICAL               COMPARABLE                                    
TRAIT         DESCRIPTION.sup.a                                           
                            VARIETY.sup.b                                 
______________________________________                                    
Classification                                                            
              Botanical-                                                  
              Fragaria L.                                                 
Plant habit   Flat-Globose  "Senagana"                                    
Plant density Dense         "Talisman"                                    
Plant vigor   Strong        "Grande"                                      
Leaf:                                                                     
a) Length     14-19 cm                                                    
b) Width      10-12 cm                                                    
c) Color      Green Group 147 A                                           
              (RHSCC)                                                     
1) Upper Side:                                                            
              Very Dark                                                   
d) Blistering Strong                                                      
e) Cross-section                                                          
              Slightly Convex                                             
f) # of leaflets                                                          
              Sometimes >3                                                
Terminal leaflet                                                          
a) Length/Width                                                           
              Longer than broad                                           
ratio                                                                     
b) Shape of base                                                          
              Obtuse                                                      
c) Shape of teeth                                                         
              Rounded                                                     
d) Length     5-6 cm                                                      
e) Width      4-5 cm                                                      
Flower                                                                    
a) Size       Medium        "Gorella"                                     
b) Size of calyx to                                                       
              Same size                                                   
corolla                                                                   
c) Size of inner calyx                                                    
              Same size                                                   
versus outer calyx                                                        
d) Spacing of petals                                                      
              Free                                                        
e) Petal length/width                                                     
              Longer than Broad                                           
f) Time of flowering                                                      
              Early         "Karina".sup.c                                
Stolon                                                                    
a) Number     Few                                                         
b) Thickness  Thin                                                        
c) Pubescence Weak                                                        
d) Anthocyanin                                                            
              Medium                                                      
coloration                                                                
Petiole                                                                   
a) Pose of hairs                                                          
              Outwards                                                    
b) Length     8-13 cm                                                     
Inflorescence                                                             
a) Position relative                                                      
              Level                                                       
to foliage                                                                
______________________________________                                    
 .sup.a The description of "Shalom" is based on the test guidelines for   
 Fragaria L. of the International Union for the Protection of New Plant   
 Varieties, (UPOV).                                                       
 .sup.b Only characteristics which are relevant for comparing varieties ar
 listed.                                                                  
 .sup.c "Shalom" flowers at the end of October. One of the earliest known 
 varieties for comparison is "Karina", which flowers in January.

              TABLE 2                                                     
______________________________________                                    
FRUIT CHARACTERISTICS OF "SHALOM"                                         
CHARACTERISTIC       DESCRIPTION                                          
______________________________________                                    
Time of ripening     Early                                                
Ratio of length/maximum width                                             
                     Longer than Broad                                    
Primary Fruit.sup.a  Conical                                              
Length               40-48 mm                                             
Width                28-35 mm                                             
Secondary Fruit      Conical                                              
Length               32-35 mm                                             
Width                25-30 mm                                             
Tertiary Fruit       Ovoid                                                
Length               25-28 mm                                             
Width                24-25 mm                                             
Size                 Large                                                
Band without achenes Narrow                                               
Unevenness of surface                                                     
                     Weak                                                 
Color                Dark red                                             
Evenness of color    Even                                                 
Glossiness           Medium                                               
Insertion of achenes Level with surface                                   
Insertion of calyx   Level with surface                                   
Pose of calyx segments                                                    
                     Clasping                                             
Size of calyx in relation                                                 
                     Larger                                               
to fruit diameter                                                         
Adherance of calyx   Strong                                               
Firmness             Firm                                                 
Color of Flesh       Dark red                                             
Evenness of flesh color                                                   
                     Uneven                                               
Sweetness.sup.b      Medium                                               
Color                43 AB circa (RHSCC)                                  
Taste.sup.b          Normal                                               
______________________________________                                    
 .sup.a There is a moderate difference between the shape of the primary an
 secondary fruit.                                                         
 .sup.b See Table 4.

              TABLE 3                                                     
______________________________________                                    
COMPARATIVE YIELD OF "SHALOM".sup.a                                       
       Nov. Dec.     Jan.   Feb.   Mar. Apr.                              
______________________________________                                    
Shalom   50     70       80   100    100   70                             
Sharon.sup.b                                                              
         40     60       80    80     80   80                             
Dorit.sup.c                                                               
         30     70       100  100    100  100                             
Smadar.sup.d                                                              
         50     70       100  100    100   50                             
Saaid.sup.e                                                               
          0     70       100  100    100  100                             
Douglas.sup.f                                                             
          0      0       40   150    150  150                             
Chandler.sup.g                                                            
          0      0       30   150    150  120                             
______________________________________                                    
 .sup.a Average yield in g/m.sup.2 in Ramat Hadar, Israel (1989-90). The  
 time of ripening for "Shalom" fruit is early.                            
 .sup.b U. S. application Ser. No. 07/735,969. The time of ripening for   
 "Sharon" fruit is very early.                                            
 .sup.c U. S. application Ser. No. 07/735,968. The time of ripening for   
 "Dorit" fruit is early.                                                  
 .sup.d U. S. application Ser. No. 07/735,967. The time of ripening for   
 "Smadar" fruit is very early to early.                                   
 .sup.e U. S. application Ser. No. 07/735,970. The time of ripening for   
 "Saaid" fruit is early to medium.                                        
 .sup.f U. S. Plant Pat. No. 4,487. The time of ripening for "Douglas"    
 fruit is late.                                                           
 .sup.g U. S. Plant Pat. No. 5,262. The time of ripening for "Chandler"   
 fruit is late.

              TABLE 4                                                     
______________________________________                                    
COMPARATIVE FRUIT CHARACTERISTICS OF                                      
"SHALOM"                                                                  
        T.S.S..sup.a                                                      
                Acidity.sup.b                                             
        in %    in %     Aroma     Taste                                  
______________________________________                                    
Shalom    8.0-9.0   1.0      4       Normal                               
Sharon.sup.c                                                              
          6.5-7.0   1.0      3       Slightly                             
                                     Acidic                               
Dorit.sup.d                                                               
          8.5-9.5   1.0      5       Good                                 
Smadar.sup.e                                                              
          8.5-9.5   1.0      5       Good                                 
Saaid.sup.f                                                               
          8.0-9.0   1.0      3       Normal                               
Douglas.sup.g                                                             
          6.5-7.0   0.8      3       Slightly                             
                                     Acidic                               
Chandler.sup.h                                                            
          6.5-7.0   0.8      3       Slightly                             
                                     Acidic                               
______________________________________                                    
 .sup.a Total Soluble Solids expresses fruit sweetness and was determined 
 with a refractometer.                                                    
 .sup.b Percent of acidity was determined as follows: 2 cc of juice extrac
 was mixed with 20 cc of water. Five drops of fenolfthaleinen was added an
 the mixture was titrated with NaOH. The percent acidity is calculated as 
 the quantity of NaOH (cc) × 0.32.                                  
 .sup.c U. S. application Ser. No. 07/735,969.                            
 .sup.d U. S. application Ser. No. 07/735,968.                            
 .sup.e U. S. application Ser. No. 07/735,967.                            
 .sup.f U. S. application Ser. No. 07/735,970.                            
 .sup. g U. S. Plant Pat. No. 4,487.                                      
 .sup.h U. S. Plant Pat. No. 5,262.

Claims

What is claimed is:

1. A new distinct variety of strawberry substantially as illustrated and described and distinguished as being able to grow in September and produce fruit starting in November and lasting until summer, with fruit having a good taste and shape and a long shelf life.