Plugs are made from the end of June to 4 July, and planted the first half of August. The field is fertigated with ~12lbs/A of nitrogen (ammonium-nitrate) after one week, every week to 3rd week of September, to a total of ~75 lbs/A. The beds are covered with straw mid-December to mid-March. Frost protection is a combination of misters at 34F and Rainbirds at 32.1F. The field is fertigated with ~5lbs/A of nitrogen per week in April, to between 20-30 lbs/A. Plots are harvested twice weekly from mid-May through mid-June. Rotation is ‘Essex’ rape - strawberry – corn or sudex – soybeans, with rye-vetch winter covers.

Table 1. Strawberry cultivar and breeding selection performance at USDA-ARS in Beltsville, Maryland, 2011, in an annual-hill plasticulture production system.
Genotype	Mean lbs/A	Field rot %	Marketable yield lbs/A	Post-harvest rot %	Yield after storage lbs/A	Large berry size (g)	Ave. berry size (g)	Index (above average)
Early season
AC Wendy	26,077	0.42	15,027	0.78	3,258	23.5	13.3	0
Earliglow	25,925	0.19	20,946	0.68	6,761	17.0	10.6	1
Northeaster	23,090	0.38	14,349	0.79	3,016	30.0	16.2	0
Early-mid season
B1828	31,652	0.19	25,551	0.82	4,566	33.6	17.8	4
B1820	24,089	0.26	17,878	0.68	5,791	34.7	16.3	1
B1690	22,202	0.27	16,200	0.48	8,503	45.7	15.7	2
B1844	17,556	0.32	11,948	0.84	1,887	46.0	20.3	2
B1893	17,787	0.20	14,288	0.66	4,857	36.8	19.8	3
Mid season
B1754	47,178	0.32	32,291	0.89	3,547	33.6	17.7	3
B1580	38,982	0.18	31,771	0.61	12,501	29.4	16.3	3
B1464	31,714	0.37	20,059	0.94	1,188	25.9	13.5	1
B1033	30,261	0.25	22,763	0.82	4,011	31.3	16.7	1
B1610	30,050	0.19	24,286	0.62	9,285	45.5	16.9	4
B1818	33,436	0.31	22,973	0.72	6,343	44.2	21.7	3
B1806	25,253	0.16	21,120	0.46	11,374	26.0	13.1	2
B1149	23,623	0.23	18,295	0.68	5,916	37.6	17.3	3
B1590	23,055	0.16	19,380	0.44	10,797	36.6	18.6	4
Darselect	23,600	0.46	12,647	0.66	4,333	23.7	14.0	0
B1915	22,189	0.17	18,503	0.67	6,122	25.2	13.7	1
Chandler	19,871	0.29	14,097	0.70	4,232	22.0	14.4	0
Late-mid season
B1753	42,796	0.24	32,318	0.69	10,110	33.3	19.8	2
B1702	37,738	0.29	26,733	0.92	2,021	33.0	18.4	2
B1463 L	35,269	0.23	27,262	0.78	6,012	25.5	14.4	2
B815	33,421	0.16	28,234	0.57	12,182	37.9	21.0	5
Allstar	32,184	0.16	27,055	0.40	16,304	27.1	14.7	3
B1792	31,847	0.21	25,129	0.79	5,392	28.5	15.7	2
B1805	30,422	0.09	27,821	0.18	22,905	47.5	19.8	5
B1540	28,318	0.34	18,771	0.61	7,249	35.9	20.8	3
B1458	37,085	0.12	32,505	0.65	11,265	37.4	19.1	4
Late season
Record	30,495	0.32	20,691	0.86	2,868	40.8	23.8	3
Ovation	27,934	0.06	26,271	0.25	19,761	27.3	16.6	2
B1839	20,587	0.30	14,462	0.18	11,839	42.4	20.9	3
Average	28,555	0.23	21,915	0.63	8,039	33.5	17.1	2.3