A model of a commercial strawberry variety for the conditions of central Russia

Abstract

The article presents a model of a commercial variety of strawberry for the conditions of central Russia. This model covers 40 features and properties, which are combined into three groups: 1) plant resistance to a complex of adverse abiotic and biotic factors (adaptive potential); 2) productivity and quality of products; 3) manufacturability of the variety. In the middle zone of Russia, adapted strawberry varieties should develop normally and produce a high quality crop of 20-25 t/ha with the sum of temperature from 1800 to 2000 oC and the duration of the vegetative period from 130 to 180 days. They must withstand spring frosts, sharp and prolonged cooling during the vegetative period, more frequent droughts and high temperatures up to +36 oC, early-winter frosts up to -25 oC in the absence of snow, the frosts up to -36 oC in winter under snow cover, temperature drops from 0…+3 oC to -20 oC in December-March after thaws and have fi eld resistance to numerous diseases and pests. The parameters of high productivity of a biennial strawberry bush are: the number of fl ower stalks ≥10 pieces, the number of berries ≥50 and the average weight of fruits for all collections is more than 10.0 g. The ideal strawberry variety should contain >12 % RSV, >8 % sugars, >80 mg% ascorbic acid, >80 mg% anthocyans and no more than 1.5 % organic acids in berries. In addition to the high taste qualities and biochemical composition, strawberry berries should be attractive, one-dimensionally, have good transportability and keeping quality. According to the ideal variety model, the crushing force of strawberry berries, which determines their preservation during harvesting and long-term transportation, must be at least 10.0 N. The combination of the above-mentioned features and properties in one genotype is a task of the future, but systematic researches in this direction should be carried out constantly. The creation and gradually updating of sources and donors for each of breeding features on a genetically diverse basis will accelerate the implementation of this model into specifi c varieties.