American plants bloom once and ripen fruit by late August into September. Though there is obvious variability in character among the Americans, their bloom and fruiting behavior is relatively uniform. Table I summarizes measurement data from various berry samples taken in 1995 through 1997. Measurements were on a plane bisecting the berry between stem and flower scars. The table lists sampling date, number of berries in the sample, the first and third quartile values, and the median size for each sample.
Dimensions are millimeters.
76 8.0 9.8 9.0 0.200 Few berries were available for the 1995 Splendor sample. Relative to the 1997 sample, the berries were smaller with a larger center-spread. The same conclusion applies to the Highway1 and Highway2 Americans. The Jacksonville Cemetery sample is the best of several ostensibly independent plants all of which had fruit median diameters of nine millimeters or greater. Berries from plants sprayed with Roundup in HW1 and HW2 were excluded when production plots were raked and remained for observation of berry expansion after ripening.