Lassen Canyon Nursery
Strawberry Breeding Program
The Lassen Canyon Nursery (LCN) strawberry breeding program selects and evaluates short day and day neutral cultivars for the southern California fruit production region as well the extended season market of the Watsonville area.
The LCN plant breeder, Mr. Jim Bagdasarian, brings to the program extensive experience in variety testing and evaluation. He selects only those crosses which show a clear competitive advantage compared to established commercial varieties. This strategy has enabled Mr. Bagdasarian to come into the market in a relatively short time with the high yielding Sweet Ann variety whose fruit quality compares favorably to that of other California variety programs.
The LCN program has adopted the following selection criteria:
- High total yields
- Plant and nutrition management practices comparable to those utilized by established varieties
- Capacity to maintain fruit size throughout the extended harvest period
- High levels of disease resistance