Carmine strawberry plant

This invention is a new and distinct variety of strawberry plant named ‘Carmine’. ‘Carmine’ is characterized by high December through February production of fruit that are firm, deep red, glossy, and moderately resistant to Botrytis and Anthracnose fruit rot diseases when grown in west central Florida.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

All phases of the development of the new variety took place at Dover, Fla. as part of an ongoing breeding program. ‘Carmine’ resulted from a controlled cross between ‘Rosa Linda’ (U.S. Plant Pat. No. 9,866) and FL 93-53 (not patented). Seeds from the cross were germinated in a greenhouse, and the resulting seedlings were planted and allowed to produce daughter plants by asexual propagation (i.e. by runners). Two daughter plants from each seedling were transplanted to raised beds, where they fruited during the 1995-96 season. ‘Carmine’ (as represented by two daughter plants from the original seedling) exhibited attractive, firm fruit, and therefore was selected for further evaluation. ‘Carmine’ has been asexually propagated by runners, annually, and further test plantings have established that the vegetative and fruit characteristics of the propagules are identical to the initial two daughter plants.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The invention is a new and distinct variety of strawberry named ‘Carmine’. When ‘Carmine’ is grown in a subtropical fall and winter climate, it is set apart from all other strawberry varieties know to the inventor by a combination of the following characteristics: high December through February production (greater than 17,000 pounds of marketable fruit per acre); fruit that are firm, deep red, and glossy; and moderate resistance toBotrytisand anthracnose fruit rot diseases.

DETAILED BOTANICAL DESCRIPTION

The following botanical description is that of mature plants of ‘Carmine’ grown under the ecological conditions (warm days, cool nights) prevailing at Dover, Fla. in late February. Colors are described using the Pantone® Color Formula Guide. Contrast is made to ‘Sweet Charlie’ (U.S. Plant Pat. No. 8,729) and ‘Camarosa’ (U.S. Plant Pat. No. 8,708), standard varieties, for reliable description. ‘Carmine’ is a promising candidate for commercial success in that it has high early season fruit production like ‘Sweet Charlie’, but has significantly firmer fruit than ‘Sweet Charlie’. ‘Carmine’ is a short day cultivar. It has a more compact plant habit than ‘Camarosa’ and ‘Rosa Linda’. Average height and width for mature plants is 19 cm and 26 cm respectively. Average petiole length and diameter is 15.6 cm and 2.5 mm respectively, and petioles have a medium pubescence. Terminal leaflets are essentially round, with an average length and breadth of 60 and 59 mm respectively, while secondary leaflets are very slightly ovoid, with an average length and breadth of 56 and 52 mm respectively. Leaflet apices and bases are obtuse. Leaflet margins are crenate and average 18 serrations per terminal leaflet, and 18 per secondary leaflet. The upper leaf surface is a dark grey green (Pantone® 370 U); the lower leaf surface is a light grey green (Pantone® 377 U); and the petiole is a medium yellow green (Pantone® 397 U). Flowers open at or above the canopy, and have an average of 5 petals and 24 stamens. Petals are round, with an average length and width of 9 mm. They have an entire margin and an obtuse apex and base. The average diameter of the corolla is 28 mm. The color of the calyx is yellow green (Pantone® 363 U). Pedicels attached to mature primary fruit are 11 to 22 cm long, 2.0 mm in diameter, yellow green (Pantone® 384), with branching of the inflorescence usually occurring very close to the crown. Mean fruit weight is less than or similar to that of ‘Sweet Charlie’ (Table 1 and 2) and ‘Rosa Linda’. Primary fruit are medium conic or wedge shaped (weighing 25-35 g); whereas secondary and tertiary fruit are mostly short conic (weighing 10-25 g). The external color of fully mature fruit is deep red (Pantone® 1807C) and glossy; internal color is a warm red (Pantone® 1795C). The achenes are generally greenish yellow and level with or slightly protruding from the fruit surface. The calyx is generally medium in size, attractive, and composed of 12 mostly elliptic sepals, which are about 10 mm in length and 4-6 mm in width. Some of the sepals have two or more incisions at their apex. Fruit of ‘Carmine’ are firmer than those of ‘Sweet Charlie’ (Table 3) and ‘Rosa Linda’. The flavor of this fruit is acceptable, but not as highly regarded as that of ‘Camarosa’, ‘Sweet Charlie’, and ‘Strawberry Festival’ (U.S. Plant Pat. No. 14,739) (Table 4). While generally sweet and juicy, the fruit, at times, can be slightly astringent. The preferred planting date for ‘Carmine’ is October 10 to October 17. Early season yields of ‘Carmine’ compared favorably to ‘Sweet Charlie’ and ‘Earlibrite’ (U.S. Plant Pat. No. 13,061) during both the 1997-98 and 2001-02 seasons (Table 1 and 2). The December yield of ‘Carmine’ in 2001 was over twice that of ‘Sweet Charlie’. Yield during December can be important to a Florida grower's profitability. The average price per flat (10.25 lbs) during the five seasons between 1995 and 2000 was $17.38, $11.57, $10.51, and $7.27 for December, January, February, and March respectively (Florida Agricultural Statistics Service). ‘Carmine’ is moderately resistant to the two most serious disease problems on strawberry in Florida:Botrytisfruit rot (caused byBotrytis cinereaPers.exFr.) and anthracnose fruit rot (caused byColletotrichum acutatumSimmonds). In an unsprayed trial during the 2001-02 and 2002-03 seasons, 7.3 and 2.2% of the ‘Carmine’ fruit harvested from February 19 to March 15 showed symptoms ofBotrytisfruit rot, compared to 18.7 and 6.8% for ‘Sweet Charlie’, the susceptible control. In another unsprayed trial during the 2001-02 and 2002-03 seasons, 9.6 and 9.3% of the ‘Carmine’ fruit harvested from February 19 to March22 showed symptoms of anthracnose fruit rot, compared to28.9 and 47.0% for ‘Strawberry Festival’, the susceptible control. The susceptibility of ‘Carmine’ to the twospotted spider mite (Tetranychus urtricaeKoch) is unknown, but a serious infestation has not yet been observed in research center or commercial trials. DNA banding patterns for ‘Carmine’, ‘Sweet Charlie’, ‘Camarosa’, ‘Earlibrite’, ‘Oso Grande’ (U.S. Plant Pat. No. 6,578) and ‘Strawberry Festival’ are presented in Table 5.

TABLE 1Performance of strawberry cultivars at Dover, Fla. during the1997-98 seasonz.Marketable yield (g/plant)Decem-Wt/fruityCultivarberJanuaryFebruaryMarchTotal(g)Carmine114 ax85 a246 ab212 b657 b16.4 cCamarosa50 b105 a167 c426 a748 ab20.0 aS. Charlie91 a54 b219 abc257 b622 b17.6 bEarlibrite66 b110 a189 bc280 b645 b20.7 aS. Festival58 b108 a255 a426 a847 a17.6 azTransplants were obtained from the following nursery locations: ‘Camarosa’ from a commercial nursery in North Carolina; all other entries were from GCREC-Dover. ‘Camarosa’ was planted on 16 Oct.; all other cultivars were planted on 9 Oct.yMean fruit weight was determined by dividing total marketable fruit yield per plot by total marketable fruit number per plot.xWithin columns, means followed by one or more of the same letters are not statistically different for each other at P ≦ 0.05.

TABLE 2Performance of strawberry cultivars at Dover, Fla. during the2001-02 seasonz.Marketable yield (g/plant)CultivarDecemberJanuaryFebruaryTotalWt/fruity(g)Carmine232 ax62 b204 a499 a17.0 bS. Charlie102 c92 a166 a360 b16.4 bEarlibrite205 ab33 c201 a439 a21.1 aS. Festival163 b61 b221 a444 a17.2 bzAll transplants were obtained from a commercial nursery in North Carolina, and planted on 9 Oct.yMean fruit weight was determined by dividing total marketable fruit yield per plot by total marketable fruit number per plot.xWithin columns, means followed by one or more of the same letters are not statistically different for each other at P ≦ 0.05.

TABLE 4Sensory characteristics of strawberry fruit harvested at Dover,Fla. 25 Feb. 2002z.CultivarAppearanceFirmnessFlavorSweetnessCarmine7.2 ay7.1 b5.3 c4.8 cCamarosa6.7 b7.0 bc6.8 a6.6 aSweet Charlie6.2 b6.6 c6.2 b6.0 bS. Festival7.5 a7.5 a7.2 a6.8 azMeans based on the rating of 72 untrained panelists. Characteristics are rated on a 1-9 hedonic scale, with 1 = dislike extremely, 5 = neither like nor dislike, and 9 = like extremely.yWithin columns, means followed by one or more of the same letters are not statistically different for each other at P ≦ 0.05.