A11-1037-8M-L180 TEXAS AGRICULTURAL EXPERIMENT STATION A. B. CONNER, DIRECTOR COLLEGE STATION, BRAZOS COUNTY, TEXAS BULLETIN NO. 556 OCTOBER, 1937 DIVISION OF HORTICULTURE L I B R A R MINIMUM! a Mflkéhariiz-ggl (“Egg .1 T A ' w all! Bflllega station, T “s Strawberry Varieties in ou-thwest Texas AGRICULTURAL AND MECHANICAL COLLEGE OF TEXAS T. O. WALTON, President Strawberry production in Southwest Texas amounts to almost a third of the state total. This crop is produced under irrigation, and plants are reset each fall from which the crop is harvested the following winter and spring. Considerations in the choice of a variety for this section are (1) runner plant production, (2) heat resistance, (3) shipping quality, (4) season of ripening, (5) color, (6) frost resistance, (7) yields, (8) disease resistance, and (9) dessert quality. During the period from 1932 to 1937 seventy-one varieties and strains have been tried at Winter Haven, Texas, and studied with the above characters in mind. a Missionary (Carolina strain), Klondike, Ettersburg 80, and “Banner” are recommended for commercial plantings, and others such as Ettersburg 121, Excelsior, Kalicene, and Narcissa might be grown for home use because of their high quality. CONTENTS Page Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 Methods of Production in Southwest Texas . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 5 Experimental Methods . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 Importance of Variety . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 7 Runner Plant Production . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . , . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8 Heat Resistance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 10 Frost Resistance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11 Earliness . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12 Fruit Yields . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 16 Shipping Quality . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18 Color of Fruit . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 18 Disease Resistance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .p . . . . . . 18 Dessert Quality . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19 Discussion of Varieties . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 21 Recommendations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31 Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 31 References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 32 BULLETIN NO. 556 OCTOBER, 1937 STRAWBERRY VARIETIES IN SOUTHWEST TEXAS E. Mortensen, Superintendent, Substation N0. 19, Winter Haven Strawberry growing under irrigation in Southwest Texas was attracting attention over twenty-five years ago. At that time, enough was grown in the Lower Rio Grande Valley to supply local markets (1). Later produc- tion has been mostly in the vicinity of Poteet, in Atascosa County, and near Carrizo Springs, in Dimmit County. Census statistics for 1929 and 1934 (12, 13) are given in Table 1 for Southwest Texas counties. The acreage Table 1. Strawberry acreage and production in Southwest Texas Acreage Production (quarts) County 1929 1934 1929 1934 Atascosa . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 277 659 567, 625 878 , 670 ee . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 2 2 , 682 4 ,975 Bexar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 9 300 1 , 957 Brooks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . * 2 200 2,511 Cameron . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 9 8 12 546 19, 5 Dimmit . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 2 191 1 300 427,793 Frio . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 * 6 650 150 Hidalgo . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19 26 56 065 39,701 Jim Wells . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 2 313 1,900 La Salle . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 1 900 2 Maverick . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0 2 0 3,900 Medina . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 7 3 200 4,206 Nueces . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . * 1 150 3,385 San Patricio . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 5 3 5 922 9,345 Zav a . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0 34 0 61 ,20O Totals Southwest Texas. . . . . . . 327 947 658,853 1 ,459,038 Entire State . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2,852 3,345 3,089.948 4,577,702 *Less than one. increased in five years from one-ninth of the state total to over a fourth. The production increased from one-fifth of the state total in 1929 to almost a third in 1934. Methods of Production in Southwest Texas Strawberries are grown as an annual crop in the Southwest Texas area. The recommended practice on sandy soils is to set plants in October, 10 to 12 inches apart, on low ridges 4 to 5 inches high and 18 or 20 inches apart, requiring about 30,000 plants per acre. On heavier soils double rows are sometimes used, plants being set 12 inches each way. These plantings l6 BULLETIN NO. 556, TEXAS AGRICULTURAL EXPERIMENT STATION begin to bear as early as December and continue until May unless severe frost intervenes. Heaviest production is usually in March and April. Plants are produced in the summer from portions of the bearing acreage reserved for the purpose. It is usually estimated that one acre of old plants will produce enough runner plants to set ten acres of strawberries in the fall. The problem of high temperatures in the summer is met by the use of heat resistant varieties and by other means of reducing heat damage. Previous work on summer treatment (10) indicates that the best procedure to reduce the ill effect of high temperatures is frequent irrigation, some- times as often as every third day during the hottest periods. Irrigation is by means of furrows, and water is not permitted to reach the plants, thus keeping the fruit clean. Mulching with straw or other material is not practiced commercially. Experimental Methods Plants used in the tests were either obtained direct from nurserymen or grown from stock for sale by nurseries. As far as possible, plants with strong crowns and good root systems were selected for testing. An attempt was made to have at least 50 plants of each variety in each test. Setting was usually done in the fall (about October 1) on ridges 18 inches apart and 12 inches apart in the row as illustrated in Figure 1. FIG. 1. Commercial strawberry harvest in the Winter Garden. This illustrates the method of spacing plants as well as manner of harvest. Note the irrigation lateral cutting across the field. STRAWBERRY VARIETIES IN SOUTHWEST TEXAS 7 Two men did this by hand. One man opened a hole with a spade and the second placed the plant at the proper level, avoiding doubling or crowding of the roots. The first man then removed the spade and firmed the ground with his foot. Irrigation was by furrow with a slow stream. When the ground was dry, rows were irrigated ahead of planting, and irrigation always followed immediately after planting. After the plants were established they were irrigated according to a schedule based on accumulated evaporation records which were taken daily from a metal tank 10 feet in diameter set at the ground level (11). During the winter months the plants were irrigated after every 2 inches of accumulated evaporation. In March and April this was increased to every 1.5 inches. From May to October the plants were irrigated after each inch of accumulated evaporation (about twice a week). Cultivation was shallow and done after each irrigation or rain. A three- row onion cultivator was used with 6-inch Wing shovels. Soils used were mostly Webb fine sandy loam and closely related types. These soils have a pH of from 6.0 to 7.0 showing them to be slightly acid. Soils with high lime content have not been successful for strawberries. Heavy soils are difiicult to handle with frequent irrigations. Fertilizers were used in 1932 and 1933 but not in 1934, 1935, 1936, and 1937. However, the strawberries were planted on land that had previously been fertilized for onions, and that also had a good supply of organic matter. Harvests usually began about January first and unless interrupted by frost continued until the end of the marketing season, which was usually a some time in April. Records were taken of (1) first flowers, (2) first ripe fruit, (3) fruit yields, (4) fruit description, (5) runner plant production, (6) per cent of summer survival, and ('7) susceptibility to leaf diseases. Importance of Variety Strawberry centers are usually developed around certain varieties. Florida is famous for Missionary; Louisiana for Klondike; other sections for Aroma, and so on. Plantings have been mostly limited to Missionary and Klondike in Southwest Texas. Experiments to increase the yield of both fruit and runner plants have indicated that often more differences exist between varieties than between various treatments. Hence, the choice of variety may make considerable difference in profit to the grower. Consideration in choosing a variety for commercial purposes are (1) runner production, (2) heat resistance, (3) shipping quality, such as firm- ness of fruit, uniformity in size, toughness of skin, (4) color, (5) season, (6) yield, (7) frost resistance, (8) disease resistance, and (9) dessert quality. 8 BULLETIN NO. 556, TEXAS AGRICULTURAL EXPERIMENT STATION RUNNER PLANT PRODUCTION Since plants form a large part of the expense of growing strawberries in Southwest Texas, efiicient runner plant production is very important. In general, runner plant production is affected by (1) inherent ability of the variety to produce runners, (2) heat resistance of the variety, (3) soil con- ditions, (4) irrigation treatments, (5) temperature, and (6) relative humidity. Ability to form runner plants differs greatly among varieties. Some varieties are consistently poor runner plant producers, while others are generally good. Some of this low production, as in the case of Chesapeake, may be due to the formation of runners too late in the season. Weather conditions are usually more favorable for runner production in May and June than in July and August. _Darrow (2) found that maximum growth occurs at mean temperatures from 68° to 79° F. at Washington, D. C. Mean temperatures well above 80° F. occur during July, August, and September in Southwest Texas. Hence, production of runner plants early in the summer is important unless the variety is exceptionally heat resistant. In the case of Fairfax and Premier, the failure to produce runners is very likely due to lack of adaptability to our length of day (5). Some varieties of the wild West-coast strawberry, Fragaria chiloensis, sometimes have been affected by leaf diseases which destroy young runner plants. Table 2 presents the number of runner plants growing in the fall, which had developed from an original planting of mother plants of 50 or more in the spring. Because of varying numbers of mother plants, the figures are based on average runner plants per original mother plant. In 1932, methods of irrigation to overcome summer heat were improperly under- stood and production was low. In 1935 some varieties were affected by leaf diseases and some by being too near some mesquite trees outside the field. In general, the following varieties may be considered reasonably good plant producers every year: Aroma, “Banner,” Dunlap, Ettersburg 80, Klondike, and Missionary. Varieties good in some years but not in others are Blakemore, Excelsior, and Thompson. Varieties with good plant pro- duction with records for one year only are Bederarena, Cape Blanco, and Early Bird. Generally poor plant producers are Aberdeen, Beaver, Bellmar, Big Joe, Brandywine, Catskill, Chesapeake, Cooper, Ellinore, Ettersburg 121, Fair- fax, Fendalcino, Fruitland, Gibson, Goldengate, Gracillis, Marshall, Mc- Clintock, New Deal, New Oregon, Nor-J, Premier, Redheart, Red Sugar, St. Louis, Southland, and Wickson. Only fair plant producers are Narcissa, Texas, Washington, Big Blossom, Champion Klondike, Culver, Dorsett, Evening Star, and Kalicene. Normally a plant increase of less than 10 per original mother plant is considered insufficient from a commercial standpoint. In other words, one acre of plants should set 10 acres for fruit production in the fall. STRAWBERRY VARIETIES IN SOUTHWEST TEXAS Table 2. (Based on 50 or more mother plants) Runner plant increase per mother plant Date of securing records Variety 1933 1 934 1935 Dec. 1 Sept. 29 Oct. 1 Aberdeen . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Alcatraz . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Aroma . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . “Banner” . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Beaver . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Bederarena . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . lmar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Big Blossom . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Big Joe . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Big Lagoon . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Blakemore . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Brandywine . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Cape Blanco . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Cape Mendocino . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Catskill . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Champion Klondike . . . . . . . . . . . . Chesapeake . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Cooper . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Culver . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Ettersburg 80 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Ettersburg 121 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Evening Star . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Excelsior . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Fairfax . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Fendalcino . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Gold Dollar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. Goldengate . . . . . . . . . . . . . _ . . . . . . . Gracillis . . . . . . . . . . . .' . . . . . . . . . . . Heceta Beach . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . efl_in . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Jupiter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Kalicene . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Klondike (local) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. Klondike (Okla.) . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. Klondike (Ark.) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. arshall Mastodon . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . McClintock . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Missionary (local) . . . . . . . . . . . . .. Missionary (Md.) . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. Missionary (Ark.) . . . . . . . . . . . . .. Missionary (Carolina) . . . . . . . . . .. Narcissa . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . New Deal . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . New Oregon . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Nor-J . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Patrick Point . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Point Arena . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Premier _(Howard 17) . . . . . . . . . . . Progressive . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Redheart . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Red Sugar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Rose Ettersburg . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Q - . . . . . - - . . . - . - - - - - . . - - ¢ . - - - - | -¢ . - . - - - - - o0 - Q - - . - - - .0 - - - . - - . ~ .- . . - - . - - - - I - » - - . . - . .- . . - . . . - . .- 10 BULLETIN NO. 556, TEXAS AGRICULTURAL EXPERIMENT STATION Table 2. Runner plant increase per mother plant—Continued (Based on 50 or more mother plants) _ Date of securing records Variety 1932 1933 1934 1935 1936 Oct. 14 Dec. 1 Sept. 29 Oct. 1 Oct. 1 St. Louis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 0.0 3.6 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Southland . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2.9* 0.3 Texas . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 1.4 11.0 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. Thompson . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 17.5 5 4* . . . . . . . . .. 5.3 Trcbla . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0.0§ . . . . . . . . . . Von Humboldt . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ' 0.0§ . . . . . . . . .. Washington . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0.8 6.4 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . White Sugar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0.01 . . . . . . . . . . Wickson . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0.5* 0.1 Yachats No 1 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 0.0§ . . . . . . . . .. U. 19 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 12.0* 1 1 U. 197 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0.0§ . . . . . . . . . . U. S 542 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0.012 . . . . . . . . .. U.S 652 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 0.71 0.8 U. S. 824 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 9.7* 0.8 U. S. 888 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 4.8* 0.2 *Spring set mother plants. TCounts on mother plants in fall, original not known. iUnfavorably located near mesquite trees. §D1ed from disease. - HEAT RESISTANCE Obviously, ability to produce runners is of little use if the variety is unable to withstand the summer heat. It is difficult to measure this factor accurately. Mortality of the mother plants is one measure. Attempts were made in the first and second years to take monthly counts of runner plants and show the effect of heat on mortality and runner plant development. It is possible for a variety to overcome considerable summer mortality by producing many plants early in the season before summer heat sets in. Mortality of parent plants is given in Table 3 for 1932, 1933, and 1934. Records of mortality were not taken in 1935 and 1936. The Carolina strain of Missionary used as a check gives an excellent record of survival. Aroma, “Banner,” Bellmar, Blakemore, and Thompson have fairly satisfactory records. A number of F. chiloensis varieties, such as Kalicene, Cape Blanco, Bederarena, Ettersburg 80, and Ettersburg 121 showed good survival, but no accurate records were obtained. STRAWBERRY VARIETIES IN SOUTHWEST TEXAS 11 Table 3. Per cent mortality of parent plants during the summer Missionary Variety 1932 1933 1934 Average $81116 period Aberdeen . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 73 79 . . . . . . . . . . 76 15 Aroma . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4O 31 22 31 16 “Banner” . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29 12 2O 13 Bellmar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18 . . . . . . . . .. 18* 10 Big J06 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54 . . . . . . . . .. 54* 10 Blakernore . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33 24 27 16 Champion K . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . a . . 37 . . . . . . . . . . 37* 10 Dunlap . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47 . . . . . . . . . . 38 15 Early Bird . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42 . . . . . . . . . . 42* 10 Evening Star . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 71 23 . . . . . . . . . . 47 15 Excelsior . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 66 38 12 35 16 Ford . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 100 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 100* 21 Fruitland . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41 . . . . . . . . . . 41* l0 1 son . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62 29 . . . . . . . . . . 45 l5 Gold Dollar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62* 21 Heflin . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 100 . . . , . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 100* 21 Klondike (local) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38* 21 Klondike (Okla) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 14 46 3O 13 Klondike (Ark) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37 . . . . . . . . . . 37* 10 Mastodon . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 75 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 75* 21 Missionary (local) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 76 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 76* 21 Missionary _(Md.) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17 . . . . . . . . . . 17* 10 Missionary (Ark.) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 . . . . . . . . . . 6* 10 Missionary (Carolina) _ . . . . . . . . .. 21 l0 16 16 15 New Oregon . . . . . . . , . . . . . . . . . . . 38 70 . . . . . . . . . . 54 15 Redheart . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38 86 . . . . . . . . . . 62 15 St. Louis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35 . . . . . . . . . . 30* 10 Texas . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60 15 . . . . . . . . . . 37 15 Thompson . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21 12 16 13 Washington . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61 27 . . . . . . . . . . 44 15 *One year only. FROST RESISTANCE Resistance to frost is also difficult to measure. That there are varietal differences is apparent but no reliable index has been devised. One impor- tant factor, aside from actual resistance of the blooms to damage, is leaf coverage. In some varieties, such as Bederarena, the blooms and fruit are‘ completely covered and Will resist severe frosts on this account. Varieties with their flowers and fruit fully exposed naturally suffer ‘greater damage. Effective leaf coverage is governed in part by the length of stems. For example, Ellinore has long stems that expose the blossoms and fruit in spite of the fact that the leaves are sufficiently large to cover the fruit. Notes on leaf coverage taken only in 1937 are presented in Table 4. In 1933, following a minimum of 18° F. on February 8, it was noted that Klondike and Thompson recovered in fruit production more rapidly than Missionary. 12 BULLETIN NO. 556, TEXAS AGRICULTURAL EXPERIMENT STATION Table 4. Degree of leaf coverage of fruit None or slight Moderate Heavy or complete Blakemore Alcatraz Bederarena Brandywine Aroma , Cape Blanco Chesapeake “Banner” Fendalcino COODGI‘ Big Blossom Wickson Culver Ettersburg 80 U. S. 824 DQPSBU Ettersburg 121 U. S. 888 Ellmore Excelsior Marshall Goldengate IVICCllIItOCk Kalicene fNarcissa Klondike New Deal Missionary Nor-J Redheart Southland Thompson U. S. 195 U. S. 652 In 1935, an estimate was made of the freeze damage to plants on January 20 and 21 with a minimum of 19° F. Beaver, Excelsior, and Brandywine showed a little greater damage to plants from cold than did Blakemore, Missionary (Carolina), Thompson, Dorsett, Cooper, Klondike, Aroma, and Banner. It was noted that Missionary (Carolina), Thompson, and Excel- sior recovered sooner after the freeze. In 1936 an estimate was made of resistance to frost injury following a minimum temperature of 23° F. on January 20. Excelsior, Fendalcino, Kalicene, Narcissa. and Thompson-seemed more resistant than Missionary (Carolina). Bederarena suffered no damage because of complete coverage by the leaves. EARLINESS There are two viewpoints with regard to earliness of production. One is that fruit in midwinter generally brings a higher price and therefore offsets greater production in the spring when prices are usually lower. The other viewpoint is that flowering and fruiting in midwinter is often cut short by freezing temperatures and plants produce less in March and April than varieties that did not flower and fruit so early. A Earliness from a commercial standpoint means the production of fruit before the regular season begins. This means that the variety must not only ripen fruits early but must produce it in paying quantities. In Table 5 are given the dates of first flower and first ripe fruit and in Table 6 the yields early in the season. 13 STRAWBERRY VARIETIES IN SOUTHWEST TEXAS :-X- * * -OOOO\O\D v-HN-Hfbv-l * v-un -x- *~'*-x-+- OOONMOOKDOONPO mlfbflflOhfitbtOmfiiOh nnv-u-< N m -.-¢- Qlfl: :23... ER. .. .92. 19E. . .. 9S N .c\]'-|C\] - N N \ N v-i -c> Zmcacmn 'V—4P-1I_(N Y-l 'V-lI-( .%uwGO@wm@/H ououoa. $13 53h 0:0», . .....€2$ 8=E8Q .. . ...A.2xov wfifiai .....:~8¢ fiiész . . dnoosm! . . . . AIGQE . . . . . . dfliumumv . . - . . .UQG@QQ@@OU ........aow~mU .. . . . ficfizshh . . . . difimwcoh . . . . . . QofiEuxM . . . £23.. MEQQ/M Amfi Snfiofim .ow whnnfiogww ........@.~oc:_@ q-u-.v¢flkm . . dficsfl .........§om.~OQ ..........~w>_DU IGIIIIIIIIMQQOOU . . . dxmmnmwusU 8€=¢_m =¢BE§~u . . .. AzxwfiwU - - . . . . . . . - . .QQ=.N@m QQWU . . . dcMBSWwQ-wpm . . . . éuoEwvqflm n---.@o?vmrm . . . . .Eomwo_m~ wmm . . . . . . . fmfigzwmm . . . . . wavhmuovom .........~®>N®m . . . . . fnuviiflmi ......®EO.~< . . . . . . . Qwhwojw .-. ..-'- -.~.-.--. .. . . ... ..-.....- ....... . . . . . cvowhxjw .>< Sh... A3322 Ho“? mam Q m2; 35b on? 3.5 2 BmQ .>< 03m A5622 hi? wwmQ S»: m5: m$>>o¢ $5.“ 3 BmQ 3o€m> win»? was uflw-okou we n35. mimqfiuofl Auofiwomwam muwoh o5 E 3:5» msowavmv a 05w? 14 BULLETIN NO. 556, TEXAS AGRICULTURAL EXPERIMENT STATION $1.5 uwwh wnOa * “X- v-‘N ION ‘I’ ‘l’ '1' 4!- ‘l- GQOOPQQOQOON-QNM O1 v-i ¢..-.-. .. -..-.. .~.-. .-. -. .1 .- .-.-..-. -¢.. -.-. -..---.-. H..fl>w... ml»: . GR. .. Em. . .. zfilfl. “In - -¢¢» - - - ¢ .1- .22. 1TH M52... +2“... p33 ..@\.fl....w.um ....www.m.D ....wNw.w.D -...- - . . . . . ... Hxm..;2_=o m U “m9. Hm .D m2 m .9 . . 53x23 doawfizmwkr .. domnEonP . . . . . dmxou. . . . Ezsnéow ....m@:o1~ dm . . . . . . . . . . .Hflm:@ wvmvm . . Jzwufism ........H|.~oZ nowoaO 3oz . . . . 173mm 3oz . . . dmwfliwZ 30v mumnommfiz . . .A.x.~$=2w22 VsSHEQQE . . . . . . . Qowoummz . IAEJPZNE $4 43w |uomm2§ not“ mmwQ £2 $2: fish.“ ca? 3.5m m0 QQNQ .>< Sh». lcofiwmz 33w Fnwfl $2 m2; 39,25 GE “o BwO 5253/ uoucznonYluamnonmh was uniokafl u: mouse mums-imam Qvwwwomwqm n53» o5 E wfiwco wcowmomv 6 03a? STRAWBERRY VARIETIES IN SOUTHWEST TEXAS Table 6. Early season yields Average in grams per plant* 15 Per cent of 1932 1933 1935 1936 1937 Missionary Variety before before before before before same Mar. 15 Mar. 31 Jan. 15 Mar. 18 1\4ar. 1 periods Aberdeen . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3.0 1.0 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34 Alcatraz . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0. 7 1 . 1 3 Aroma . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 2.2 0.0 2.0 8.9 10 “Banner” . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 2.1 0.0 2.5 10.8 12 Beaver . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 10.8 4.4 . . . . . . .. 34 Bederarena . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22.0 23.9 41 Bellmar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .3 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 231' Big Blossom . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0.0 0.0 0 Big Joe . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 0.7 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 121 Blakemore . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 2.5 3.9 16.4 10.9 40.8 56 Brandywine . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3.0 2.6 38.3 36 Cape Blanco . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0 .7 1 . 1 2 Catskill . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2.7 . . . . . . . . 8]; Champion Klondike . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5.6 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 98 Chesapeake... . . . . . . . . . .. - . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 1.8 15.7 16 Cooper . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11 .7 38.9 43 Culver . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5.7 21.4 24 Dorsett . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. .7 10.4 34.0 37 Dunlap._ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 12.1 1.2 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 114 Early Bird . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4.2 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 74 Ellinore . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2.6 5.2 7 Ettersburg 80 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 . 8 6. 6 8 Ettersbur 121 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4.9 8.9 12 Evening tar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0.0 1.3 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11 Excelsior . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3.6 3 .0 7 . 1 49 .0 73.9 102 Fendalcino . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15.6 21 .6 34 Fruitland . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2.9 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 511' Gibson . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 1.7 5.8 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 64 Goldengate . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0. 1 0 . 0 0 Gracillis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0 . 5 0.0 0 Heflin . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .3 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51' Kalicene . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13.0 25.5 35 Klondike (local) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .5 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1251' Klondike (Okla.) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 . 5 1 . 1 10 .7 46. 6 49 Klondike (Ark.) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5.9 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1041' Marshall . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6.0 17.9 22 Mastodon . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2.3 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38 McClintock . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6.2 29.9 33 Missionary (local) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6.01 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10012 Missionary (Md.) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3.9 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 681 lVIissionary (Ark.) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3.3 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 581' Missionary (Carolina) . . . . . . . . . . 3.01 5.7 10.8 33.6 77.2 100 Narcissa . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18.5 26.7 41 New Deal . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14.0 21.7 32 New Oregon . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3.0 0.7 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32 Nor-.I . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2.8 12.2 14 Redheart . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 .0 . . . . . . . . 3.7 24.3 25 Red Sugar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0.9 . . . . . . . . 31' St. Louis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3.1 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 541' Southland . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20.3 21 .8 38 Texas . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 7.1 3.3 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 89 Thompson . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6.9 6.8 34.6 59.0 84 Washington . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0.0 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0 Wickson . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 . 1 7 .0 7 U. S. 195 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 1.8 4.5 6 U. 652 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 18.7 61.0 72 U. S 824 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0.0 0.5 0 U. S 888 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8.9 14.8 21 *To et the approximate yield in 24-pint crates per acre multiply the grams per plant by 4. 10ne year his is based on a perfect stand (18x12 inch spacing). only. IUsed local Missionary for check in 1932 because of late planting of Carolina strain. 16 BULLETIN NO. 556, TEXAS AGRICULTURAL EXPERIMENT STATION i Considering yields, there are few varieties that consistently equal Mis- sionary for early production of fruit. Excelsior usually produces more fruit early in the season; other varieties approach Missionary production but not consistently. Blakemore, Texas, Thompson, Dunlap, Early Bird, and Beaver may be considered early varieties. Klondike, Gibson, Cooper, Brandywine, Narcissa, New Deal, St. Louis, Southland, Dorsett, Aberdeen, Fruitland, and Kalicene may be considered second early. An estimate of earliness for all varieties is given in Table 7. Table 7. Relative Earliness of Varieties Very Early Early Early Midseason Midseason Late Beaver Champion Klon- Aberdeen Aroma Alcatraz Blakemore dike Bederarena “Banner” Big Blossom Early Bird Dunlap Bellmar Big Joe Cape Blanco Excelsior Fruitland Brandywine Chespeake Catskill Missionary Gibson Cooper Ettersburg 121 Ellinore Gold Dollar Culver Fendalcino Ettersburg 80 Klondike Dorsett Marshall Evening Star Narcissa Heflin New Oregon Goldengate St. Louis Kalicene Nor-J Gracillis Texas Mastodon Redheart Red Sugar Thompson McClintock U. S. 888 Washington U. S. 652 New Deal ‘ Wickson Southland U. S. 195 U. S. 824 FRUIT YIELDS The final measure of a variety is its yield of marketable fruit at a time when prices are profitable. Early production at high prices may be oifset by high yields during the main part of the season, even though the price is lower. The harvesting cost is about the same per crate whether the net return is $1.00 per crate or $5.00 per crate. Therefore as large a pro- portion of the crop as possible should be produced at the time of higher prices. Frosts may interfere with these plans, but in general the earlier varieties have been more profitable during the six years of the test. Early yields are given in Table 6. Total yields during the marketing season are given in Table 8. The later varieties often continue to produce heavily after the shipping season is over, and their full capacity for pro- duction is not shown in the table. These may, of course, be of value for home use or canning. Yield records were taken only as long as the mar- keting season extended. In 1937 the varieties were scattered throughout a planting of seedlings under test in the breeding work, and calculations of percentage are based on the nearest Missionary (Carolina) plot. These check plots were planted every seventh plot in the 1936-37 season. Lack of knowledge of proper cultural and irrigation procedure doubtless accounts for the poor yields in 1932. The severe freeze on February 8, 1933 (18° F.), probably affected the yields in that year. Delay in setting the plants accounts for poor yields in 1934. Winter frosts occurred in 1935 and 1936 and interrupted fruit production for several weeks. No killing frost occurred in the 1936-37 season, and this season might be considered as ideal for strawberries. STRAWBERRY VARIETIES IN SOUTHWEST TEXAS 17 Table 8. Total yields for market season Average in grams per plant* . 1932 1933 1934 1935 1936 Per cent of 1937 Per cent of Variety Apr. 181 May 10 April 16 April 20 April 13 Missionary April 24 Mislsionary 937 Aberdeen . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 .4 19.1 12 .8 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Alcatraz . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 27 0 30 58.7 42f Aroma . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 19.0 17.9 47.8 48.5 65 106.6 58 “Banner" . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27.9 27.3 95.7 70.3 108 176.9 107 Beaver . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30.4 14.5 30 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Bederarena . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 68 2 77 163.2 82 ellmar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Big Blossom . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. Big Joe . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Blakemore . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 64 92.4 56 Brandywine . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36 62.5 40 Cape Blanco . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27 93.9 60 Catskill . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18_ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Champion Klondike. 65 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. Chesapeake . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31 47.4 30 Cooper . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49 69 . 1 44 Culver . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36 75.0 48 Dorsett . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 68 103 .3 64 Dunlap . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Early Bird . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Ellinore . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44 192 .4 122 Ettersburg 80 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 82 191.6 121 Ettersburg 121 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 72 156.8 99 Evening Star . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Excelsior . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62 132.0 851‘ Fendalcino . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 64 130. 6 48 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 76 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14 114.5 72 36 78.9 1161' 33 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 66 128 .2 79 185 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 106 184.2 114 47 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28 99 . 6 78 70 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62 77.9 46 Missionary (local) . . . . . . . . . . . . 111 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Missionary (Md.) . . . . . . . . . . . .. 40 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Missionary (Ark.) . . . . . . . . . . . . 60 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. Missionary (Carolina) . . . . . . . .. 100 156.4 100 Narcissa . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59 .9 47 New Deal . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 86 155.4 8ST New Oregon . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40 . . . . . . . . - . - - - - - - . - - - Nor-J . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69 219.9 129 Redheart . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46 88. 1 85]‘ Red Sugar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 46 . . - . - . . . . - - - - - - - - - -- St. Louis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45 . . - - - - . - . . - - - - - - ~ - - - Southland . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 66 134.1 130T Texas . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 70 . . . . . . . . . . - - - - - - - - - - Thompson . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 100 162.4 154 Washington . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Wickson . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30 205.9 134 U. S. 195 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24 50. 7 321' U. S. 652 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 83 122.7 U. S. 824 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50 60.3 38 U. S. 88S . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53 109.3 69 *To get the approximate yield in 24-pint crates per acre multiply the grams per plant by 4. This is based on a perfect stand (18x12 inch spacing). ‘(Incomplete for whole season. jlDates given indicate end of marketing season. Yields are given in grams per plant but tests are on a basis of 50 to 1,000 plants. Multiplying the number of grams per plant by 4 will give the approximate yield in 24-pint crates per acre. 18 BULLETIN NO. 556, TEXAS AGRICULTURAL EXPERIMENT STATION Only a few varieties outyielded Missionary during the commercial harvest period in the six years of the test. “Banner,” Klondike, Missionary, and Thompson bore consistently good yields of fruit. Blakemore and Ex- celsior bore well early in the season but failed to maintain good production into the main season. “Banner” and Klondike are midseason varieties but bear heavily in March and April. Ettersburg 80, Ettersburg 121, and New Deal gave promising yields. New Deal is a poor variety, however, and is not recommended. SHIPPING QUALITY A good shipping variety must have a firm fruit, with a skin not easily bruised. It must also be able to hold its color well after picking. Another quality important for shipping is uniformity in size and shape. From the standpoint of shipping quality, Klondike, Blakemore, Mis- sionary (Carolina), Aroma, “Banner,” and Ettersburg 80 are the leading varieties tried. Excelsior and Narcissa are good but vary in size so much that a uniform pack is difficult to maintain. All varieties vary somewhat in size from one picking to another but some become so small that they are not marketable. COLOR OF FRUIT The color of a variety helps to sell it. The most desirable color from a commercial standpoint is a bright red that does not darken after picking. Missionary tends to darken after picking while Klondike and Blakemore hold their color well. For canning a very pale variety is not desirable but in the case of Blakemore the pale color is not objectionable because it is firm and holds its color after canning. A uniform interior color is also desirable. Another factor in color is uneven coloring when ripening. Some varieties may color on the tip end and leave a zone of white at the base that gives an unattractive fruit; others leave a white tip. Excelsior, Blakemore, Dorsett, Klondike, and Narcissa color evenly. i Redheart, Goldengate, U. S. 824, and U. S. 888 are very dark-colored berries, sometimes becoming almost black when fully ripe. DISEASE RESISTANCE In climates such as Southwest Texas, leaf diseases are unimportant during the fruiting season because of cool weather, but in the summer months leaf diseases may become severe and cause considerable damage. Differences in resistance to such diseases have been noted among the varieties under test. Missionary is one of the most resistant while some wild F. chiloensis selections are very susceptible. Notes taken in 1935 when leaf diseases were severe are summarized in Table 9. Leaf diseases do not occur every year and are never serious in Southwest Texas except in plant beds. Klondike plants when crowded sometimes suffer severe damage from leaf diseases. STRAWBERRY VARIETIES IN SOUTHWEST TEXAS 19 Table 9. Severity of leaf disease in summer, 1935 Ettersburg 121 Fendalcino Gracillis Klondike Marshall Narcissa Mild Moderate Severe Aroma “Banner” Alcatraz Blakemore Bederarena Beaver Cooper Brandywine Big Blossom Culver Cape Blanco Big Lagoon Excelsior Catskill Cape Mendocino McClintock Chesapeake Goldengate Missionary Dorsett Heceta Beach Redheart Ellinore Nor-J _ Thompson Ettersburg 8O Patrick Point Point Arena Red Sugar Trebla U. S. 197 Von Humboldt White Sugar Wickson Yachats No. 1 DESSERT QUALITY Flavor is an important consideration for strawberry varieties intended for home use or local market but so far has not been an important factor in shipping. Some of the newer varieties like Dorsett may create a demand for better quality berries. There are two main types of flavor in strawberries. One is represented by Excelsior which is the more acid type that is greatly preferred by many people. The other main type is the mild flavor with low acid content represented by “Banner” and Ettersburg 80. Choice of flavors among individuals divides about equally between these two types. Flavor-rating is therefore likely to vary considerably between individuals. In Table 10 is given an indication of flavor as determined in these tests. Table 10. Dessert Quality Good to Excellent Fair to Good Poor to Fair “Banner”* Aberdeen Beaver Bederarena* Alcatraz* Brandywine Blakemore Aroma Catskill Cape Blanco* Bellmar Champion Klondike Chesapeake Big Blossom* Culver Dorsett Big Joe Dunlap Ellinore* Cooper Evening Star Ettersburg 80* Early Bird Gibson Ettersburg 121* Fendalcin0* Gracillis* Excelsior Fruitland Klondike Goldengate* Marshall New Deal* Kalicene* McClintock Texas Narcissa Missionary Thompson Nor-J* New Oregon Southland Redheart U. S. 824 St. Louis U. S. 888 U. S. 195* U. 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STRAWBERRY VARIETIES IN SOUTHWEST TEXAS 21 DISCUSSION OF VARIETIES Brief notes on variety characters are given for fruits in Table 11 and for plants and flowers in Table 12. The descriptions given are based 0n their behavior in Southwest Texas and should be used only as a guide to their performance under similar conditions. The growth and development of a variety is influenced by temperature, length of day, and season. Thus a variety grown in the South does not always look like the same variety grown in the North, because of climatic differences. Descriptive notes were not taken in every year and therefore are not complete for some varieties. Brief discussions are given below for each variety grown. Table 12. Plant characteristics Leaves Flowers i Covering Av. dia- Variety Size of plant _ Shade of of fruit meter, Size green Texture mm Alcatraz . . . . . . . . . med-large . . . . . . . . . . . large dark leathery partial 25 Aroma . . . . . . . . . . medium . . . . . . . . . . . . . medium medium thin partial 27 “Banner”. . . . . . . large . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . medium dark leathery partial 32 Bederarena . . . . .. large . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . large dark leathery complete 29 Big Blossom. .. . . medium . . . . . . . . . . . . . medium dark leathery partial 4O Blakemore. . .. . . . medium . . . . . . . . . . . . . small light thin exposed 20 Brandywine. . . . . small to large . . . . . . . . large medium thin exposed 21 Cape Blanco. . . .. large . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . large dark leathery complete 40 Chesapeake. .. . . . small . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . medium medium thin exposed 25 Cooper . . . . . . . . . . small to large . . . . . . . . medium light thin partial 25 Culver . . . . . . . . . . small to medium. . . . . small medium thin exposed 20 Dorsett . . . . . . . . . small to medium. . . . . small medium thin exposed 22 Ellinore . . . . . . . . . medium to large. . . . . . small dark leathery exposed 30 Ettersburg 80. . . medium to large. . .. . . large dark leathery partial 40 Ettersburg 121.. . medium to large. . .. . . large light leathery partial 35 Excelsior . . . . . . . . medium . . . . . . . . . . . . . large light thin partial 25 Fendalcino . . . . . . medium . . . . . . . . . . . . . medium medium leathery complete 22 Goldengate . . . . . . medium . . . . . . . . . . . . . medium dark leathery partial 30 Kalicene . . . . . . .. medium . . . . . . . . . . . .. medium medium leathery partial 25 Klondike . . . . . . . . medium . . . . . . . . . . . . . medium medium thin partial 3O Marshall . . . . . . . . small to medium. . . . . small light thin exposed 17 McClintock. . .. . . small to medium. . . . . small light thin exposed 22 Missionary . . . . . . medium . . . . . . . . . . . . . small light thin partial 19 Narcissa . . . . . . . . . small to medium. . . . . small medium thin exposed 18 New Deal _ . . . . .. medium . . . . . . . . . . . .. small dark leathery exposed 3O Nor-J . . . . . . . . . .. large . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . large dark leathery partial 27 Redheart . . . . . . . . medium . . . . . . . . . . . . . small medium thin partial 20 Southland . . . . . . . medium . . . . . . . . . . . . . large dark thin partial 26 Thompson . . . . . . . medium . . . . . . . . . . . . . medium medium thin partial 25 Wickson. . . .. . . . medium to large . . . . . . large dark leathery complete 26 Aberdeen originated in New Jersey (6). It is not recommended for South- west Texas because of its low yields of fruit and low runner plant pro- duction. Dessert quality is only fair. Alcatraz was originated by Albert F. Etter, California, from the cross “Red Sugar x Duchesne.” As yields are poor to fair because of its late season, it is not recommended for general planting. 22 BULLETIN NO. 556, TEXAS AGRICULTURAL EXPERIMENT STATION Aroma (Fig. 2)‘ originated in Kansas (6). It is a good shipping variety but is excelled by Missionary and Klondike in this section; It is a good plant producer. FIG. 2. Aroma » §“Banner” (Fig. 3) was received under this name from California but is not the true Banner. It is very similar to Ettersburg 80, showing the char- acteristics of the wild west coast strawberry, ‘Fragaria chiloens/is, but sat- FIG. 3. “Banner” isfactory identification has not yet been made. It is well adapted and a good yielder. t is recommended for Southwest Texas as a market variety. STRAWBERRY VARIETIES IN SOUTHWEST TEXAS 23 Beaver (Fig. 4) originated in Wisconsin and is poorly adapted to ‘Southern conditions. It is very early but cannot be recommended. Bederarena originated with Albert F. Etter, Cali- fornia, and is from a cross of Point Arena and Bederwood. Although it has some good qualities such as complete leaf coverage, it is very suscepti- ble to disease and is recommended only for home use. Bellmar resulted from a cross of Missionary and Howard 17, made by the U. S. Department of Agri- culture in Maryland (6). It is later than Missionary and is not productive enough to recommend for Southwest Texas. Big Blossom is a wild selection of Fragaria ChiZOQHSiS of no commercial importance. It is of FIG. 4. Beaver little value for home use and is chiefly interesting for its very large blossoms. Big Joe originated in New Jersey (6) and like most northern varieties "is not well adapted to southern conditions. “Blakemore (Fig. 5) is the result of a cross of Missionary and Howard 17, made in Maryland by the U. S. Department of Agriculture (3). It is a smaller plant than Missionary and is quite heat resistant. It tends to produce fruit late in the season and is therefore often low in plant production. It is subject to an obscure disease called “yellows” which seems to afiect only this variety, which therefore is not recommended for commercial planting, although the fruit has ex- cellent shipping qualities. Brandywine (Fig. 6) originated in Pennsylvania (9) and is an old ship- ping variety now displaced by others with smoother fruits. A It is not fully adapted to southern conditions and is not recommended. FIG. 5. Blakemore Cape Blanco (Fig. 7) is a wild selection of Fragaria chiloensis from California and is of no commercial value. It is late in season. Carolina is considered to be a strain of fMissionary. FIG. 6. Brandywine 24 BULLETIN NO. 556, TEXAS AGRICULTURAL EXPERIMENT STATION FIG. 7. Cape Blanco Catskill originated at the New York Experiment Station from a cross of Marshall and Howard 17. It is not adapted to southern Winters. Chesapeake originated in Maryland (6). Although the fruit is high in quality, it is not adapted to our seasons and is not recommended. Cooper (Fig. 8) is another northern variety that sometimes does reasonably well but in ‘gen- eral is not adapted. It sometimes produces ex- ceptionally large fruits. It is not recommended. _Culver originated from a cross of Marshall and Howard 17 at the New York Experiment Station. Although better adapted than Catskill, it is not recommended for planting. Dorsett (Fig. 9) originated from a cross of Royal Sovereign and Howard 17, made by the U. S. Department of Agriculture in Maryland (4). Because of its high dessert quality and good shipping qualities, it is unfortunate that it is not quite at home in our climate. It cannot be recommended for commercial plantings. FIG. 8. Cooper Dunlap is another northern variety,loriginating in Illinois (6), that is not quite well enough adapted to recommend for general planting. STRAWBERRY VARIETIES 1N SOUTHWEST TEXAS 25 FIG. 9. Dorsett Ellinore (Fig. 10) was received from Albert F. Etter as a “Duchesne- Trebla hybrid.” It has soft fruits but might be of some value for home FIG. 10. Ellinore plantings since it produces fairly Well. It has long stems that completely expose the fruit. The fruit is a very pale pink color and is sweet When only White. i Ettersburg 8i) (Fig. 11) is another California variety bred by Albert F. Etter. It is a Fragan/"ia chiloensis hybrid and has strong plants with heavy 26 BULLETIN NO. 556, TEXAS AGRICULTURAL EXPERIMENT STATION crowns. It is Well adapted to southern Winters and is a good shipping variety. Although a late variety it is a heavy yielder and is recommended for either shipping or home use. FIG. 11. Ettersburg 80 Ettersburg 121 (Fig. 12) also came from Mr. Etter and originated from a cross of Alpine with Cape Mendocino. It is earlier than Ettersburg 80 FIG. 12. Ettersburg 121 STRAWBERRY VARIETIES IN SOUTHWEST TEXAS 27 and has small well colored fruits.‘ It has been a poor plant producer and therefore is not recommended for commercial plantings, although it seems well adapted. Evening Star originated in Missouri. Because of its late season and soft fruit it is not recommended for Southwest Texas. Excelsior (Fig. 13) originated in Arkansas from a Hoffman-Wilson cross (9). It is the earliest variety tried at Winter Haven and produces heavily early in the season. Later the fruits become so small that a large per- centage are culls. It should be planted only to a limited extent for very early markets or home use. FIG. 13. Excelsior Fairfax originated in Maryland, probably from a cross of Howard 17 and Royal, Sovereign made by the U. S. Department of Agriculture (4). The plants are weak and produce few runners. Very few flowers are produced and the resultant fruit is very poor in flavor. It is not adapted to South- west Texas although it is reported to be an excellent variety in the North (6). Gibson was received under this name although the preferred name is Parsons (6). It originated in Maryland. It is not recommended for general planting because several other varieties are much better adapted. Goldengate (Fig. 14) is another introduction from California by Etter, who reports it to be a selection “from a cross of Ettersburg 80 and 28 BULLETIN NO. 556, TEXAS AGRICULTURAL EXPERIMENT STATION FIG. 14. Goldengate Duchesne.” It is quite susceptible to leaf diseases and because it is very late is not recommended for planting. It grows Well during the Winter months and bears a very good flavored fruit. Howard 17 is the preferred name for Premier. Kalicene (Fig. 15) originated in California with Albert F. Etter and seems to be quite heat resistant. The fruits tend to be irregular and FIG. 15. Kalicene STRAWBERRY VARIETIES IN SOUTHWEST TEXAS 29 the color is not always uniform. The flavor is very good and the variety would be of value for home use. Klondike (Fig. 16) originated in Louisiana from a cross of Pickerproof and Hoffman (9). This is the leading commercial variety in Louisiana and Texas, and is one of the two varieties planted for commercial production. FIG. 16. Klondike; one of the two leading commercial varieties. The crop is produced mostly during March and April and the season is shorter than for Missionary. Production is usually high. Because its color does not darken or fade readily it is a good shipping and preserving variety. Unfortunately the flavor is only fair. It is well known on the markets and may be safely planted for commercial production. Marshall originated in Massachusetts (6). Since it is not adapted to southern climates it has not done well. McClintock originated at the Tennessee Agricultural Experiment Station as an Aroma seeding (8). Although better adapted than most northern varieties it is not recommended for planting in Southwest Texas. Missionary (Fig. 17) is a standard commercial variety originating in Virginia (6). It is the leading variety for winter strawberries and pro- duces over a long period, sometimes as long as six months. The fruit darkens sooner than Klondike or Blakemore, but since it is mostly mar- 30 BULLETIN NO. 556, TEXAS AGRICULTURAL EXPERIMENT STATION keted in the winter and early spring this does not prevent Missionary from being an important commercial variety. The Missionary used in these tests was one purchased as “Carolina” and was grown in Oklahoma. FIG. 17. Missionary; perhaps the most popular commercial variety for the South. Narcissa (Fig. 18) originated in Maryland from a cross of Royal Sov- ereign and Howard 17, made by the U. S. Department of Agriculture (4). It is not promising for commercial planting, but because of its good flavor and color could. be planted in home gardens. Though not a heavy yielder it produces over a long season. FIG. 18. Narcissa New Deal is a variety from California originated by Albert F. Etter. It is a heavy yielder but the fruits are small and the flavor only fair to poor. It is not recommended for Southwest Texas. STRAWBERRY VARIETIES IN SOUTHWEST TEXAS 31 New Oregon is similar to Marshall (6). It makes few plants and is 10w in yield and therefore not recommended. Nor-J. is a Fragwria chiloensis hybrid received from Albert F. Etter. It is a heavy yielder but not suitable for shipping and should be planted only in home gardens. Parsons is the same as Gibson. Premier (Howard 17) is a leading northern variety received under this name, although Howard 17 is the preferred name (6). The plants are weak and failed to produce fruit under Southwest Texas conditions. Redheart is a variety originated by the U. S. Department of Agriculture from a Portia-Euresko cross (7). It is the firmest variety tried at Winter Haven and is suitable for canning. It tends to bear irregular, rough fruits * and is not recommended for commercial planting. Southland is from a cross of Ettersburg 80 and Howard 17, made by the U. S. Department of Agriculture (7). In spite of the good quality fruit, Southland is not recommended for other than home gardens because of its poor plant production. Texas originated in Arkansas and is not generally grown now. It is well adapted to Southwest Texas but is excelled by other varieties. Thompson originated in North Carolina (6). It is well adapted to South- west Texas and is a heavy producer but is somewhat soft and therefore not as suitable as some varieties for commercial production. Washington is a variety from the northwestern part of the United States. It is too late to be of value in Southwest Texas. Wickson is an Etter introduction from California and apparently a Fragaria chiloensis hybrid. It is late and the fruits are too small for com- mercial use and bruise easily. It might be of value in the home garden because of its good flavor and fair to good yields. RECOMMENDATIONS Of the 71 varieties and selections under test, Missionary (Carolina), Klondike, Ettersburg 80, and “Banner” are recommended for commercial production. Others such as Ettersburg 121, Excelsior, Kalicene, and Narcissa might be grown for home use because of their high quality and general adaptability. SUMMARY Approximately one-third of the Texas strawberry crop was produced in Southwest Texas in 1934, with centers of production in Atascosa and Dimmit counties. Seventy-one varieties and selections have been tried during the period from 1932 to 1937. 32 BULLETIN NO. 556, TEXAS AGRICULTURAL EXPERIMENT STATION Best varieties for runner plant production were Aroma, “Banner,” Dunlap, Ettersburg 80, Klondike, Missionary, Blakemore, Excelsior, and Thompson. Best varieties for heat resistance as measured by summer mortality were Aroma, “Banner,” Bellmar, Blakemore, Missionary, and Thompson. Kali- cene, Bederarena, Ettersburg 80, Cape Blanco, and Ettersburg 121 also seem good. Bederarena, Excelsior, Fendalcino, Kalicene, Narcissa, and Thompson appear to be most frost resistant. Earliest varieties were Excelsior, Missionary, Blakemore, Early Bird, and Beaver Highest yields of fruit during the marketing season were produced by “Banner,” Klondike, Missionary, and Thompson. g From the standpoint of shipping quality, Klondike, Missionary, Blake- more, Aroma, “Banner,” and Ettersburg 80 are the leading varieties tried. Excelsior, Blakemore, Dorsett, Klondike, and Narcissa color evenly and are attractive. Missionary is the most disease-resistant variety. Aroma, Blakemore, Cooper, Culver, Excelsior, McClintock, Redheart, and Thompson also show resistance to leaf disease. Leading varieties for flavor and dessert quality are “Banner,” Blakemore, Chesapeake, Dorsett, Ellinore, Ettersburg 80, Ettersburg 121, Excelsior, Goldengate, Kalicene, Narcissa, and Southland. Recommended varieties for commercial shipping are Missionary (Caro- lina), Klondike, Ettersburg 80, and .“Banner.” REFERENCES 1. Binford, E. E. 1913. Strawberries under Irrigation in South Texas. Texas Agr. Exp. Sta. Cir. 1. 2. Darrow, G. M. 1930. Experimental Studies on the Growth and Development of Straw- berry Plants. Jour. Agr. Res. Vol. 41, No. 4. 3. Dargowhg. M. and G. F. Waldo. 1929. The Blakemore Strawberry. U. S. Dept. Agr. 1r. . 4. Darrow, G. M. and G. F. Waldo. 1933. The Dorsett, Fairfax and Narcissa Straw- berries. U. S. Dept. Agr. Cir. 257. 5. Darrow, G. M. and G. F. Waldo. 1934. Responses of Strawberry Varieties and Species to Duration of the Daily Light Period. U. S. Dept. Agr. Tech. Bul. 453. 6. Darrow, G. M. and G. F. Waldo. 1935. Strawberry Varieties in the United States. U. S. Farmers’ Bul. 1043. 7. Darrow, G. M., G. F. Waldo, C. E. Schuster and B. S. Pickett. 1934. Twelve Years of Strawberry Breeding II. Jour. Hered. Vol 25, No. 11. 8. Drain, B. D. 1932. The McClintock Strawberry. Tenn. Agr. Exp. Sta. Bul. 146. 9. Hedrick, U. P. et al. 1925. The Small Fruits of New York. N. Y. Agr. Exp. Sta. 10. Mortensen, E. 1934. Strawberry Runner Plant Production in Southwest Texas. Proc. Am. Soc. Hort. Sci. 32z424-28. 11. Mortensen, E. and Hawthorn, L. R. 1933. Use of Evaporation Records in Irrigation Experiments with Truck Crops. Proc. Am. Soc. Hort. Sci. 30:466-69. 12. U. S. Dept. of Commerce, Bureau of the Census. 1931. Fifteenth Census of the United States: 1930; Agriculture-Texas Statistics by Counties. Second Series. 13. U. S. Dept. of Commerce, Bureau of the Census. 1936. United States Census of Agriculture: 1935. Vol. II.