Attributes
- Extremely early planting date and fruit onset
- Excellent flavor
- Uniformly well-shaped
- Bright red and glossy
- Good shelf life and transportability
- High percentage of large, marketable fruit
- Compact plant structure
- Excellent rain tolerance
- Little to no chill requirement
Fruit & Plant Characteristics
The Florida Beauty™ strawberry variety originates from collaboration between the University of Florida (USA) and the Queensland Department of Agriculture and Fisheries (Australia). This cultivar requires little to no chilling in the nursery field. Due to its day neutrality, the Florida Beauty™ strawberry variety may be dug and transplanted earlier than most other cultivars. As a result, Florida Beauty™ is one of the earliest varieties to enter into production. It produces uniform fruit with exceptional flavor and fruit quality.
The Florida Beauty™ strawberry variety yields uniformly shaped fruit of medium size. The early fruit shows no sign of elongation. The fruit is firm and has excellent rain tolerance. The flavor and aroma of the Florida Beauty™ strawberry variety is considered very good with an excellent balance of sweetness and tartness.
The Florida Beauty™ strawberry variety is unique for its compact plant habit, low chill requirement, and day-neutral flowering habit. In winter production regions, the cultivar produces high early yields in November and December. Production remains steady with little gapping throughout the season.
Nursery Production
Due to the day neutral character of the Florida Beauty™ strawberry variety, nurserymen should be prepared to remove flowers in the nursery field. To avoid possible pesticide resistance, multi-site fungicides should be used in the nursery field to allow flexibility for the fruit grower to employ more targeted materials. This cultivar may be lifted at extremely early dates allowing nurseryman to spread harvest operations over a longer harvest period.
Field Production
The Florida Beauty™ strawberry variety benefits from an extended period of high nitrogen fertilization during the initial establishment period. Beginning a week to ten days following transplant, the recommended application rate is 2.2 Kg N/Ha/day for six weeks. For the remainder of the season, the recommended rate is 1.12 Kg N/Ha/day. These rates should be adjusted depending upon soil and water analyses.
Disease & Pest Resistance
Plants of the Florida Beauty™ strawberry variety are moderately susceptible to diseases affecting both root systems and ripening fruit. Growers who employ a traditional integrated pest management system will be rewarded by impressive early production of a top shelf fruit.
*Characteristics may vary depending on weather conditions, day length, soil type and location.