Strawberry Plant Propagation: Evaluation of Cultivars Using Different Growing Environments and Assessment Approaches
Strawberry branch crown development is often associated with yield and berry size. The propagation rate of strawberry cultivars is key to their establishment and longevity in the industry. However, new cultivars often are released with little indication of these traits. This study aimed to character...
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American Society for Horticultural Science (ASHS)
2025-03-01
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| Series: | HortScience |
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| Online Access: | https://journals.ashs.org/hortsci/view/journals/hortsci/60/5/article-p667.xml |
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| author | Kim S. Lewers Bryan T. Vinyard |
| author_facet | Kim S. Lewers Bryan T. Vinyard |
| author_sort | Kim S. Lewers |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Strawberry branch crown development is often associated with yield and berry size. The propagation rate of strawberry cultivars is key to their establishment and longevity in the industry. However, new cultivars often are released with little indication of these traits. This study aimed to characterize cultivars according to production of crowns, runners, and daughter plants, determine if cultivar plant part propagation would vary according to production system, determine if propagation of daughter plants would vary between field environments and production in tubs in a screenhouse, and determine how well subjective scores for vigor and runner production predict objective data from the same plots. Ten cultivars were grown in an annual plasticulture system for 4 years. Four of these cultivars were also grown in a low-tunnel production system in adjacent fields. Three months after planting, immediately after plot-based subjective rating for plant vigor and runner production was performed, the number of crowns, runners, and daughter plants were counted. The same 10 cultivars were planted each year in tubs of potting mix in a screenhouse. In late fall, all plants were dug from each tub and counted. Four cultivars, Camarosa, Chandler, Flavorfest, and Keepsake, were grown in plasticulture and under low tunnels. Those grown under low tunnels produced 37% more runners and 71% more daughters per plant than those grown in annual plasticulture, with no cultivar × system interaction. There was no evidence of differences between cultivars in terms of the number of daughters per runner (estimates of 1.5–2.6). Therefore, the number of runners determined the number of daughters produced. In plasticulture, ‘Camarosa’, ‘Chandler’, ‘Galletta’, and ‘Sweet Charlie’ produced the most runners, and ‘Allstar’, ‘Earliglow’, and ‘Flavorfest’ produced the fewest runners. Plants grown 6 months in tubs in a screenhouse produced between 4- and 13-fold more daughters per mother plant compared to plants grown 3 months in annual plasticulture. Subjective scores for runner production were well-associated with runner counts, but subjective scores for vigor were not well-associated with counts of crowns or crowns plus runners. The wide range of propagation rates, according to both cultivar and propagation methods, should assist nurseries in estimating propagation rates of these cultivars and encourage breeders to measure propagation rates of new cultivars. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-ca21002e6ab747ddb72e4135c4eb8db4 |
| institution | DOAJ |
| issn | 2327-9834 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-03-01 |
| publisher | American Society for Horticultural Science (ASHS) |
| record_format | Article |
| series | HortScience |
| spelling | doaj-art-ca21002e6ab747ddb72e4135c4eb8db42025-08-20T02:53:50ZengAmerican Society for Horticultural Science (ASHS)HortScience2327-98342025-03-01605https://doi.org/10.21273/HORTSCI18445-25Strawberry Plant Propagation: Evaluation of Cultivars Using Different Growing Environments and Assessment ApproachesKim S. Lewers0Bryan T. Vinyard1Genetic Improvement of Fruits and Vegetables Laboratory, US Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research ServiceNortheast Area Statistics Group, US Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research ServiceStrawberry branch crown development is often associated with yield and berry size. The propagation rate of strawberry cultivars is key to their establishment and longevity in the industry. However, new cultivars often are released with little indication of these traits. This study aimed to characterize cultivars according to production of crowns, runners, and daughter plants, determine if cultivar plant part propagation would vary according to production system, determine if propagation of daughter plants would vary between field environments and production in tubs in a screenhouse, and determine how well subjective scores for vigor and runner production predict objective data from the same plots. Ten cultivars were grown in an annual plasticulture system for 4 years. Four of these cultivars were also grown in a low-tunnel production system in adjacent fields. Three months after planting, immediately after plot-based subjective rating for plant vigor and runner production was performed, the number of crowns, runners, and daughter plants were counted. The same 10 cultivars were planted each year in tubs of potting mix in a screenhouse. In late fall, all plants were dug from each tub and counted. Four cultivars, Camarosa, Chandler, Flavorfest, and Keepsake, were grown in plasticulture and under low tunnels. Those grown under low tunnels produced 37% more runners and 71% more daughters per plant than those grown in annual plasticulture, with no cultivar × system interaction. There was no evidence of differences between cultivars in terms of the number of daughters per runner (estimates of 1.5–2.6). Therefore, the number of runners determined the number of daughters produced. In plasticulture, ‘Camarosa’, ‘Chandler’, ‘Galletta’, and ‘Sweet Charlie’ produced the most runners, and ‘Allstar’, ‘Earliglow’, and ‘Flavorfest’ produced the fewest runners. Plants grown 6 months in tubs in a screenhouse produced between 4- and 13-fold more daughters per mother plant compared to plants grown 3 months in annual plasticulture. Subjective scores for runner production were well-associated with runner counts, but subjective scores for vigor were not well-associated with counts of crowns or crowns plus runners. The wide range of propagation rates, according to both cultivar and propagation methods, should assist nurseries in estimating propagation rates of these cultivars and encourage breeders to measure propagation rates of new cultivars.https://journals.ashs.org/hortsci/view/journals/hortsci/60/5/article-p667.xmlfragaria ×ananassacrowndaughterrunnerstolon |
| spellingShingle | Kim S. Lewers Bryan T. Vinyard Strawberry Plant Propagation: Evaluation of Cultivars Using Different Growing Environments and Assessment Approaches HortScience fragaria ×ananassa crown daughter runner stolon |
| title | Strawberry Plant Propagation: Evaluation of Cultivars Using Different Growing Environments and Assessment Approaches |
| title_full | Strawberry Plant Propagation: Evaluation of Cultivars Using Different Growing Environments and Assessment Approaches |
| title_fullStr | Strawberry Plant Propagation: Evaluation of Cultivars Using Different Growing Environments and Assessment Approaches |
| title_full_unstemmed | Strawberry Plant Propagation: Evaluation of Cultivars Using Different Growing Environments and Assessment Approaches |
| title_short | Strawberry Plant Propagation: Evaluation of Cultivars Using Different Growing Environments and Assessment Approaches |
| title_sort | strawberry plant propagation evaluation of cultivars using different growing environments and assessment approaches |
| topic | fragaria ×ananassa crown daughter runner stolon |
| url | https://journals.ashs.org/hortsci/view/journals/hortsci/60/5/article-p667.xml |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT kimslewers strawberryplantpropagationevaluationofcultivarsusingdifferentgrowingenvironmentsandassessmentapproaches AT bryantvinyard strawberryplantpropagationevaluationofcultivarsusingdifferentgrowingenvironmentsandassessmentapproaches |