The Beef On Berries: Several popular strawberry cultivars are emerging from Florida

摘要

IN Florida's main strawberry production area, which is between 15 and 30 miles east of Tampa, the percentage of the acreage in various strawberry cultivars will be about the same for the 2007-2008 season as it was for the previous season: approximately 60% Festival, 15% Treasure, 10% Driscoll cultivars, and 20% other (mostly Camino Real, Carmine, Winter Dawn, and Camarosa). Festival (pictured), released from the University of Florida (UF) in 2000, is a grower favorite because it has a sturdy bush that is easy to harvest, doesn't yield huge quantities of fruit on any one date, and produces very few cull fruit. Festival is a supermarket favorite because its fruit are attractive, fit well in 1 pound clamshell containers, and have a long shelflife.