January and February are very busy months for the breeding program.  The following activities are ongoing during this period:
Hundreds of controlled crosses (hybridizations) are being made on potted plants in the greenhouse. Plants with desirable plant and fruit characteristics are being selected from among a population of approximately 10,000 seedlings.  This population includes offspring of numerous parental combinations. Fruit appearance and yield data is being collected twice weekly on several hundred clones originally selected in previous years. Fruit from plants of 15 advanced selections are being harvested from replicated trials and evaluated for yield, size, and disease susceptibility.

The ultimate goal of the program is to develop a series of varieties that will provide West Central Florida with a steady supply of high quality fruit from November until April. The current emphasis in the breeding program is to develop an improved early variety and to increase the number of useful varieties generated from the seedlings evaluated. Tissue culture propagation and genetic research may increase efficiency of the breeding program.

The strawberry cultivar Florida 90 was developed at GCREC-Dover in 1952 and was the standard cultivar in Florida until 1967. Florida 90 was also grown extensively in Mexico. Another major breeding contribution was the identification and the incorporation of genetic resistance of anthracnose into horticulturally desirable strawberry clones. Two strawberry cultivars, Dover and Florida Belle, with high anthracnose resistance were released but did not become dominant in the industry. Some characteristics which have been incorporated into advanced breeding lines are those that give increased fruit yields and size, single fruit stems, better shipping ability, and enhanced fruit color. To improve the probability of creating cultivars superior to the standards of today, the number of seedlings and selections evaluated were greatly increased over the past five years and additional increases are planned. During the 1986-87 season, approximately 14,000 seedlings were evaluated for disease resistance and over 4,000 were evaluated for fruiting characteristics.

A program to include tissue culture as one of the tools for strawberry development was initiated in 1988. This technique may be useful in the production of disease-free plants and for rapid multiplication of seedlings developed through the breeding programs. Research will be conducted with explants to determine if their vegetative and reproductive behavior can be modified.

In 1992, Dr. Chandler released the 'Sweet Charlie' Strawberry', named in honor of Dr. Charles Howard who died in 1991. 'Sweet Charlie' is an anthracnose-resistant variety that produces sweet, flavorful fruit and has become popular with consumers. 'Rosa Linda' is the latest variety released from the program.

The year 2000 brought two new cultivars into the public eye.  'Earlibrite', named in tribute of Professor Earl Albregts, and 'Strawberry Festival' in honor of Plant City, Florida's annual Strawberry Festival.  Although still in the early testing stages, both of these new varieties have proved to be popular with local growers during their first official growing season.

For more information regarding strawberry cultivars - Click here.