Strawberry Tryouts

Six scientists from the federal government, universities and a commercial strawberry grower are holding strawberry tryouts around the country. Each of the scientists is growing 20 to 40 of the best of the Virginia and Chile genotypes, looking for traits they want the most.

"We will pick the most outstanding genotypes of those two parent species for breeding," says Stan C. Hokanson. He is a geneticist with the Agricultural Research Service (ARS).

In Dr. Hokanson's plots in Beltsville, Maryland, one genotype flowered nearly 2 weeks early. And two genotypes were disease free in the fall, "when all the cultivars were covered with leaf spot, scorch, and powdery mildew," says Hokanson. He is one of two ARS scientists working on the evaluation project.

Jim Hancock, professor of horticulture at Michigan State University in East Lansing, oversees the project. He says researchers had already selected promising genotypes during earlier evaluations.

"We tried to pick the best from these and select a representative sample. It's like doing the final cut."

A whole new strawberry with unique flavors and textures could result from these tryouts. But it will take at least 12 years— more likely 15 to 20 years—before strawberries with new, desirable traits go to market, says Tom Sjulin, with the large California grower, Driscoll Strawberry Associates, Inc.

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