A Comprehensive Guide to Strawberry Varieties for Optimal Yield and Quality
- Three main varieties of strawberries are June-bearing, ever-bearing, and day-neutral strawberries.
- Different strawberry varieties respond uniquely to photoperiod — the length of daylight hours.
- The two main strawberry planting systems are matted row and hill system adaptability.
Did you know that all U.S. states grow strawberries? Despite different climatic conditions across regions, everyone still gets to enjoy this juicy fruit. This is made possible by multiple strawberry varieties that adapt to different environments.
Picking the right variety based on your location is key to better fruit quality and to meeting market demands. You need to consider factors like climate, soil, and disease resistance when choosing the variety to plant.
Below, we will be looking at the different types of strawberry plants and how to choose the best one based on your region and climate.
The Different Categories of Strawberry Varieties
The different strawberry varieties are mostly classified according to their fruiting habits and growth characteristics. Knowing which variety to plant makes caring for strawberries easier.
By Fruiting Habit
- June-Bearing Strawberries: These cultivars produce a harvest in June and are the most common variety among commercial growers.
- Ever-Bearing Strawberries: This variety of strawberries can produce up to three harvests from late spring up to fall in the first year.
- Day-Neutral Strawberries: Lastly, we have day-neutral strawberries, which aren’t influenced by day length. As such, they produce a steady supply of fruit from late spring until the first frost.
By Growth Characteristics
Aside from fruiting habits, strawberries can also be categorized on their growing system and response to photoperiod. Let’s start with the response to light.
Short-day vs. Long-day vs. Day-Neutral Response to Photoperiod
- Short-day Strawberries: These are part of the June-bearing strawberry type. They respond to short photoperiods (daylight hours below 12). That’s when they start to produce flower buds, usually around late summer or early fall.
- Long-Day Strawberries: This kind of strawberries responds to a longer photoperiod which is more than 12 hours of sunlight.
- Day-Neutral Strawberries: This variety isn’t influenced by day length. As long as the plant is exposed to the right temperatures, it will keep flowering. In northern regions like California, farmers can expect production in spring, summer, and autumn.
Matted Row vs. Hill System Adaptability
These are the two main methods of planting strawberries; each has different requirements.
Short-day vs. Long-day vs. Day-Neutral Response to Photoperiod
In this planting system, strawberries are arranged in spaced rows. As they grow, they will produce runners which develop and establish roots. This leads to an interlaced network of runners, leading to the name ‘matted row.’
Ideally, each row should be about 35 cm (13 inches) wide. If runners grow beyond that, the farmer needs to pin them back to their row before they establish roots.
This growing system is more common with the June-bearing variety. In addition, since the daughter plants are allowed to grow and produce fruits, farmers can expect more harvest.
Hill System Adaptability
As the name suggests, you’ll have a small hill of soil; it should be roughly 8 inches tall and 24 inches wide. Your hill can be as long as your space allows. You will then employ the staggering planting system, with each hill having two rows of plants.
In this growing system, daughter runners are removed, leaving the mother plant to grow. Doing so encourages the mother plant to develop multiple crowns and flower stalks. This method is great for day-neutral varieties as they don’t produce many runners.
Top Commercially Grown Strawberry Varieties
We have over 600 varieties of strawberries. However, some of them are more commonly commercially grown. Let’s discuss them.
High-Yielding Varieties for Large-Scale Farming
Large-scale farmers target high-yielding varieties as this leads to a large harvest. To maximize production, these are the most common cultivars:
- Albion: This is a day-neutral variety originating from California. The plant produces moderately firm fruits that are conical in shape with a dark red color and sweet taste. Since it produces many runners, they have to be cut down to ensure high production.
- Camarosa: It is a hybrid variety popularly grown in California. It’s ideal for large-scale farming as it yields large wedge-shaped strawberries in plenty. The fruits are also very firm and have a good flavor.
- Chandler: This is also a June-bearing variety known for its high yields. The strawberries can vary in shape, with some being large and conical and others being long and wedge-shaped. Unfortunately, this variety doesn’t have a high resistance to diseases, such as leaf scorch and anthracnose.
Best Varieties for Flavor and Fresh Markets
Most consumers want exceptionally flavored strawberries, so farmers have to choose a variety that is tasty and juicy to appeal to fresh markets. Those varieties are as follows:
- Seascape: This is a day-neutral plant that allows for continuous fruiting during the harvesting season. It’s symmetrical in shape and has a sweet and tart flavor.
- Mara des Bois: This variety originated from France and has the most aromatic scent and intense flavor among all June-bearing varieties. The fruits are usually small to medium with a glossy sheen.
- Sweet Charlie: This variety lives up to its name by tasting like it has been dipped in powdered sugar. It has a small, compact shape, but it makes up for its small size with its intense flavor.
Disease-Resistant and Climate-Specific Varieties
Lastly, most farmers look for varieties that are resistant to diseases and do well in their regions. In this category, the top varieties include the following:
- San Andreas: This is an ever-bearing variety almost similar to Albion but with a slightly higher plant vigor. San Andreas is resistant to most diseases that affect the strawberry plants, such as spider mites, leaf scorch, gray mold, and powdery mildew.
- Monterey: This is also an ever-bearing vigorous variety with an outstanding flavor, followed by a sweet aftertaste. Monterey has strong disease-resistant capabilities but is vulnerable to powdery mildew. As such, farmers need to treat it against the disease.
- Elsanta: An Elsanta strawberry is a large and firm variety with a sweet almost raspberry-like taste. Most of the fruits are mostly conical in shape just like the Albion variety. Elsanta is resistant to most diseases including gray mold and leaf spot. It’s also moderately resistant to root disease and powdery mildew.
Selecting the Right Variety Based on Region and Climate
Different kinds of strawberries perform differently based on region and climate. For an easy time, farmers should consider picking varieties that do well in their region.
- Varieties for Cold Climates: Some of the varieties that will do well in northern regions include Honeoye, Jewel, Elsanta, Lucy, and Malling Opal. They will become dormant during winter to survive the cold season.
- Varieties for Hot/Dry Climates: Strawberry species that do well in southern regions include Festival, Florida Brilliance, Sweet Charlie, Radiance, and Ruby June. These varieties can beat the heat.
In addition to choosing specific varieties, you can also explore different cultivation methods. For example, adaptations for greenhouse and hydroponic cultivation allow you to control factors like light and temperatures, giving you room to plant multiple varieties and find what works best for you. However, it can be helpful to start with ever-bearing plants like Albion, San Andreas, and Portola for consistent harvest.
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