By Clint Thompson
Alabama strawberry growers do not need to put all of their eggs in one variety basket. That’s the message that Sushan Ru, assistant professor in horticulture at Auburn University, presented to growers at the recent Alabama Fruit and Vegetable Growers Association Conference on Feb. 4-6.
Instead of growers depending so much on the Camarosa variety, producers should diversify their farming operations with other options. Ru explained why.
“Disease is one major thing. When a disease outbreak happens, it might happen in all of the Camarosa plants. They need to have a second option, plan B. That was the case last year,” Ru said. “All of Camarosa plants sourced from Canada were infected with Neopestalotiopsis. Growers don’t know what else to plant. That’s why we need to diversify our options. The other thing is Camarosa is fading out in the bigger industry. Plant sources are limited. It’s harder and harder to get good quality plants of Camarosa.
“People are moving on with new cultivars. We need to catch up with that. We’re starting to see some promising new cultivars that have comparable performance.”
Other Options
The need for other varietal options is the basis for Ru’s research. She’s studying other varieties and comparing key traits like yield, flavor and shelf life.
One option is Victor. It is a UC-Davis variety that has yields comparable to Camarosa. Victor has firm fruit, excellent shelf life and large berries, though Ru said the overall taste is not as good as Camarosa.
“It is a viable (option) in terms of production. It is actually better than Camarosa in terms of yield and overall fruit, plant development,” Ru said. “But the fruit quality is not as good as Camarosa. That’s the downside. It’s not perfect, not like Camarosa where it has everything.
“But then we have Sensation, Warrior, Felicity. They also have pretty good yield and very good flavor and fruit quality.”
Sensation is a UF variety that provides earlier harvesting than Camarosa, though its survival rate is not as high as Victor or Camarosa. Su added that there could be increased risks of frost damages, so it might not be a viable option for North Alabama growers.