Earlibrite

Description
'Earlibrite' has a more compact plant habit than 'Sweet Charlie' or 'Camarosa', currently the standard strawberry cultivars grown in west central Florida.  The compact plant habit leads to the production of fruit that are exposed, and therefore easy to harvest.  This exposure, however, also makes the fruit vulnerable to rain damage (i.e. cracking and cat-facing).  Fruit of 'Earlibrite' tend to be very large.  Marketable fruit of 'Earlibrite' have had an average weight of over 20 g in trials at GCREC-Dover.  Large fruit size is an important breeding objective, and a key factor in the improvement of harvest efficiency.  The primary fruit are often globose conic in shape; whereas secondary and tertiary fruit are conic to wedged shaped.  External fruit color is bright red; internal color is a pale red.  The calyx is generally medium in size and slightly recurved, a feature we believe provides some structural resistance to gray mold fruit rot (caused by Botrytis cinerea Pers.ex Fr.).  Fruit of 'Earlibrite' have a moderately firm texture and a flavor intensity and sweetness comparable to 'Sweet Charlie' and 'Camarosa', according to a trained taste panel.  'Earlibrite' also has some of the aromatic qualities of its parent 'Rosa Linda'.

Performance
'Earlibrite' grown in west central Florida tends to have December through February yields similar to those of 'Sweet Charlie' and higher than those of 'Camarosa', while the March yields of 'Camarosa' tend to be higher than those of 'Earlibrite' and 'Sweet Charlie'.

Disease and pest reactions
'Earlibrite' is susceptible to anthracnose fruit rot (caused by Colletotrichum acutatum Simmonds), but, in most years, this disease should not become a serious problem.  We anticipate that most growers will quit harvesting 'Earlibrite' in early March, which is typically before environmental conditions are favorable for disease development.  In commercial trials, 'Earlibrite' appears to be less susceptible than 'Sweet Charlie' to gray mold fruit rot.  'Earlibrite' can, however, be severely affected by the twospotted spider mite (Tetranychus urticae Koch), and, because of the dense nature of mature plants, complete pesticide coverage of lower leaf surfaces is problematic.  Growers that have difficulty controlling twospotted spider mites on this cultivar may want to consider using Phytoseiulus persimilis Athias-Henriot for biological control.