Festival

Strawberry Festival
(Registered in the European Union as Florida Festival)

Fruiting Characteristics:
Early production of consistently uniform, well shaped fruit; initiation of fruit production is slightly later than Sweet Charlie or Earlibrite but earlier than Camarosa; well adapted for winter and early spring production systems;  open architecture of the plant and the long stems of the fruit facilitate pollination and harvest. 

Fruit Quality:
Medium to large fruit that maintains its size throughout the production season; high gloss with light red color throughout; excellent dessert characteristics for both fresh and frozen markets.

The Strawberry Festival represents an important contribution to the international strawberry industry by Dr. Craig Chandler of the University of Florida’s Dover Research Station.  The variety was selected to compete in Florida’s winter and early spring fresh fruit market window.  It comes into production five to ten days later than Earlibrite but two weeks or more before the Camarosa variety. 

Fruit Characteristics
The Strawberry Festival produces bright red, conical fruit that maintains its medium to large size throughout the production cycle.  The fruit is especially suitable for presentation in 250 gr. punnets. The fruit has excellent dessert and aromatic quality, superior to Camarosa but not as accentuated as Sweet Charlie.  The fruit is similar to Camarosa in firmness and shelf life.  The open architecture of the plant and long fruit stems facilitate both pollination and the fruit harvest.  The fruit has a consistent red color in its interior, making it an excellent candidate for the freezer market.  Total yields are greater than Sweet Charlie.  Festival’s superior disease resistance and superior pollination under cool, humid conditions result in a higher percentage of marketable fruit than Camarosa, especially in the early part of the season. 

Disease Resistance
Strawberry varieties from the University of Florida variety development program generally demonstrate superior levels of disease resistence when compared to those from the University of California.  Growers should be aware, however, that the Strawberry Festival is not as resistant to Colletotrichum acutatum as are the earlier releases, Sweet Charlie and Earlibrite.  The fruit is less susceptible to rain damage than that of the Earlibrite. 

Nutrient Program
Strawberry varieties from University of Florida program require significantly less nitrogen and substantially more potassium and calcium than do the commercial varieties from the University of California.  Fruit growers must alter and adapt their plant nutrition programs to accommodate the needs of the Strawberry Festival if they are to achieve strong yields of high quality fruit.  The fruit grower should avoid placing plants of the Strawberry Festival on the same drip line and under the same fertilizer regime as the Camarosa.  An over-application of nitrogen will cause the plants to produce soft, insipid fruit with little shelf life.