NEW STRAWBERRY VARIETY TRIAL SHOWS PROMISING SIGNS

A new strawberry variety trial has been developed by Teagasc. It has begun on several soft fruit farms across Ireland this year and is beginning to show interesting results. The trial is being run in IRELAND association with the Italian soft fruit plant propagators Mazzoni and Salvi-Vivai (also known as CIV).

One of the most promising varieties is CIV 725 (see image). The variety has a large yield, excellent flavour and the fruits look fantastic. They have an elongated shape with a lovely glossy colour. Other varieties being tested include ‘Joly’, ‘Sibilla’, ‘Lycia’ and ‘Annely’. ‘Annely’ is the earliest of the varieties. It has been observed that ‘Annely’ is struggling to yield and the fruit is prone to splitting. The other varieties ‘Joly’, ‘Lycia’, and ‘Sibilla’ all show good yield potential. The fruit shape and quality is also excellent. So far, ‘CIV 725 and ‘Lycia’ are performing best in terms of yield potential and quality. Further assessment on all the varieties being trialled through tasting and shelf-life tests will be completed this summer to assess if the varieties have a place in the market. Larger scale testing of successful varieties plus new introductions will continue in 2022. ✽