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ARS Home » Southeast Area » Fort Pierce, Florida » U.S. Horticultural Research Laboratory » Citrus and Other Subtropical Products Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #424464
Research Project: Determination of Flavor and Healthful Benefits of Florida-Grown Fruits and Vegetables and Development of Postharvest Treatments to Optimize Shelf Life an Quality for Their Fresh and Processed Products

Location: Citrus and Other Subtropical Products Research

Title: Florida Medallion™ ‘FL 16.30-128’ Strawberry

Author
item DALID, CHERYL - University Of Florida
item OSORIO, LUIS - University Of Florida
item PERES, NATALIA - University Of Florida
item LEE, SEONGHEE - University Of Florida
item WHITAKER, VANCE - University Of Florida
item Plotto, Anne
item Bai, Jinhe

Submitted to: HortScience
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 4/16/2025
Publication Date: 6/9/2025
Citation: Dalid, C., Osorio, L.F., Peres, N., Lee, S., Whitaker, V., Plotto, A., Bai, J. Florida Medallion™ ‘FL 16.30-128’ Strawberry. HortScience. 60(7):1032-1036. 2025. https://doi.org/10.21273/HORTSCI18585-25.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.21273/HORTSCI18585-25

Interpretive Summary: The cultivar Florida Medallion 'FL 16.30-128) is a new release from the University of Florida strawberry breeding program. It has similar yield and fruit weight than the current commercial cultivar 'Florida Brilliance'. Its advantage stems in that it consistently produces fruit with a conical shape, easy to pack. The fruit strawberry flavor is similar or greater than the flavor of 'Brilliance', as well as sweetness, substantiated by greater measured soluble solids content (Brix). It has a greater tolerance to Botrytis fruit rot than 'Brilliance', but the incidence of anthracnose fruit rot and mortality due to charcoal rot were higher than both commercial standards. Its greater fruit quality and yield similar to the current dominant variety 'Florida Brilliance' has made 'Florida Medallion' adopted by Florida growers (15% of acreage planted in 2024).

Technical Abstract: Currently the main strawberry (Fragaria 'ananassa) grown in Florida is 'Florida Brilliance' (Whitaker et al., 2019; U.S. Patent PP30,564). Commercialized in 2018, it accounted for about 50% of the acreage in west-central Florida in 2024. This cultivar has high early yield and uniformly shaped, medium-sized, and glossy fruit. Its open plant architecture and long stems facilitate efficient harvesting. In recent years, Sweet SensationTM ‘Florida127’ (Whitaker et al. 2015; hereafter referred to as ‘Florida127’; U.S. Patent PP25,574) has been the second leading cultivar, notable for its large fruit size and sweet flavor. There remains a need for varieties with both the high early yields and premium flavor. The introduction of Florida Medallion™ ‘FL 16.30-128’ (hereafter referred to as ‘FL 16.30-128’; U.S. Patent PP33,451) in 2020 has provided such an option. As a result, this cultivar increased to about 15% of acreage in central Florida by 2024. Trials of ‘FL 16.30-128’ were conducted on the research plots of the University of Florida Gulf Coast Research and Education Center (GCREC) in Wimauma, FL; at the Florida Strawberry Growers Association (FSGA) headquarters in Dover, FL; and on commercial farms in west-central Florida.