Strawberry plant named Madeira

Abstract

This invention relates to a new and distinct variety of strawberry named `Madeira`. The variety is distinguished by its flat habit, dense plant density, obtuse terminal leaflet shape, reflexed pose of calyx segments, downward pose of petiole hairs, same size calyx in relation to fruit on the secondary fruit, and fruit with weak to medium acidity.

Description

Latin name: The Latin name of the plant is Fragaria×ananassa.

Variety denomination: The varietal denomination of the plant is `Maderia`.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The new variety originated as a result of a controlled cross between the strawberry 7C171 and 21Y13 (both unpatented varieties) in an ongoing breeding program, and was discovered as a seedling in a controlled breeding plot in Hillsborough County, Florida in December, 1997. The original seedling was asexually propagated by stolons in a nursery in Shasta County, Calif. Propagules were transplanted to a controlled breeding plot in Hillsborough County, Fla. where the variety was identified and selected for further evaluation. Madeira was subsequently asexually propagated and underwent further testing in Hillsborough County, Fla. for five years. This propagation and testing has demonstrated that the combination of traits disclosed herein which characterize the new variety are fixed and retained true to type through successive generations of asexual reproduction.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to a new and distinct variety of strawberry named `Madeira`. The variety is botanically identified as Fragaria×ananassa. The new variety is distinguished from other varieties by a number of characteristics as set forth in Tables 1-4.

COMPARISON TO SIMILAR VARIETIES

The varieties which we believe to be similar to Madeira from those known to us are `Biscayne` (U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/396,214 filed Sep. 15, 1999) and `Marathon` (U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/396,213 filed Sep. 15, 1999). There are several characteristics of the new variety that are different from, or not possessed by Biscayne or Marathon. The base of the terminal leaflet shape is obtuse. The pose of the petiole hairs is downwards. The size of the calyx in relation to fruit on the secondary fruit is smaller.

In addition, there are several characteristics of the new variety that are different from, or not possessed by 21Y13 and 7C171, the antecedents of Madeira. Madiera differs from 21Y13 in that it is partially everbearing, while 21Y13 was a day-neutral variety. Madeira differs from 7C171 by having superior shipability.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The accompanying photographs show typical specimens of the new variety, including fruit, foliage and flowers, in color as nearly true as it is reasonably possible to make in color illustrations of these characteristics.

FIG. 1 shows the whole plant.

FIG. 2 shows the leaves of the plant.

FIG. 3 shows the upper side and the under side of the flowers.

FIG. 4 shows a close-up of the fruit.

FIG. 5 shows the fruit in longitudinal cross-section.

DESCRIPTION OF THE NEW VARIETY

The following detailed description of the new variety is based upon observations taken of plants and fruit grown in Hillsborough, Fla. USA. Observations of Madeira, Marathon, and Biscayne were taken in side by side comparison in January, 2001. This description is in accordance with UPOV terminology. Color designations, color descriptions, and other phenotypical descriptions may deviate from the stated values and descriptions depending upon variation in environmental, seasonal, climatic and cultural conditions. Colors are described and the most similar color designations are provided from The Royal Horticultural Society (R.H.S.) Colour Chart.

PROPAGATION

The new variety is principally propagated by way of stolons or by tissue culture. Although propagation by stolons or tissue culture is presently preferred, other known methods of propagating strawberry plants may be employed.

CHARACTERISTICS OF THE NEW VARIETY

Information on the new variety is presented in Tables 1, 2, 3 and 4. In the tables, the flowers described are secondary flowers except where indicated. The petal color of Madeira is white, 155C in The R.H.S. Color Chart. The fruit described is the secondary fruit on one year old plants. Fruit and flower measurements are an average of both primary and secondary fruit and flowers.

Table 1 provides information on the plant and fruit characteristics of the new variety Madeira compared with characteristics of Marathon and Biscayne. Table 2 provides additional information of the plant and fruit characteristics of the new variety Madeira compared with characteristics of the varieties Marathon and Biscayne. Table 3 provides information of the new variety's reaction to pests and diseases, respectively, compared to the varieties Marathon and Biscayne. Table 4 provides isozyme characteristics of the new variety as compared to the varieties Marathon and Biscayne.

TABLE 1
DETAILED COMPARISON OF MADEIRA,
BISCAYNE AND MARATHON
	Madeira	Biscayne	Marathon
Plant Characteristics
Height of Plant (cm)	17	13.7	14.3
Spread of Plant (cm)	28.2	32.7	34.1
Number of Crowns	4.8	6.9	6.0
Leaf Characteristics
Terminal Leaflet	8.0	6.9	8.8
Length (cm)
Terminal Leaflet	7.0	7.2	8.3
Width (cm)
Terminal Leaflet	1.14	0.96	1.06
Length/Width Ratio
# Teeth/Terminal	19.9	26.0	25.7
Leaflet
Color of upper side	147A	137A	137B
	dark green	light green	light green
Color of under side	137B	139C	139C
	light gray green	light gray green	light gray green
Petiole Length (cm)	11.6	11.4	11.9
Petiole Color	145A	141D	144B
	yellow-green	yellow-green	yellow-green
Bract Frequency	90%	100%	80%
	mostly paired		mostly paired
Stipule Length (cm)	3.6	3.6	3.3
Stipule Width (cm)	2.6	2.0	2.1
Flower Characteristics
Petal Length (cm)	1.55	1.29	1.47
Petal Width (cm)	1.36	1.45	1.66
Petal Length/Width	1.14	0.89	0.89
Ratio
Flower Diameter (cm)	3.6	3.36	4.14
Calyx Diameter (cm)	3.08	4.17	4.82
Flower Color	155C	155C	155C
	white	white	white
Fruit Characteristics
Fruit Length (cm)	4.9	4.1	4.6
Fruit Width (cm)	4.3	3.9	4.0
Fruit Length/Width	1.15	1.06	1.13
Ratio
Average Berry Weight	19	18	26
(g)
External Color	46A	46B	42A
	dark red	red	orange red
Internal Color	43A	44A	42C
	medium red	medium red	light red
Achene Coloration	12A to 178B	13B to 46A	12A to 46A
	yellow to dark	yellow to red	yellow to red
	red
Yield (g/plant)	432	335	539

TABLE 2
CHARACTERISTICS OF MADEIRA,
BISCAYNE AND MARATHON
	Madeira	Biscayne	Marathon
Plant
Habit	flat globose	flat globose	flat globose
Density	medium	medium	medium
Vigor	strong	strong	strong
Leaf
Shape in cross section	concave	concave	concave
Interveinal blistering	medium	weak	medium
Glossiness	medium	medium	medium
Number of leaflets	three only	three only	three only
Terminal leaflet	revolute	revolute	revolute
margin profile
Terminal leaflet shape	obtuse	rounded	slightly
of base			oblique
Terminal leaflet shape	rounded	rounded	obtuse
of teeth
Stipule pubescence	medium	medium	medium
Petiole pubescence	medium	medium	medium
Petiole pose of hairs	downwards	outwards	outwards
Stolon
Number	many	many	medium to
			many
Anthocyanin	strong to	strong	medium to
coloration	very strong		strong
Thickness	medium to	medium	medium to
	thick		thick
Pubescence	medium	medium	sparse
Inflorescence
Position relative to	beneath	level	beneath
foliage
Diameter of calyx	larger	larger	larger
relative to corolla on
secondary flowers
Diameter of inner	same size	same size	same size
calyx relative to outer
on secondary flowers
Spacing of petals	overlapping	overlapping	overlapping
Fruiting Truss
Fruiting Truss Length	13.7	17.1	18.3
(cm)
Attitude at first	prostrate	prostrate	prostrate
picking
Fruit
Predominant shape	conical	conical	cordate
Difference in shapes	slight	slight	slight
between primary and
secondary fruits
Band without achenes	narrow	narrow	narrow
Unevenness of surface	weak	weak	weak
Evenness of color	even	even	slightly
			uneven
Glossiness	strong	strong	strong
Insertion of achenes	level with	level with	below surface
	surface	surface
Insertion of calyx	level	level	level
Pose of the calyx	reflexed	spreading	spreading
segments
Size of calyx in	smaller	larger	larger
relation to fruit on
secondary fruit
Adherence of calyx	strong	strong	strong
Finnness of flesh	medium	firm	medium
Evenness of flesh	slightly	slightly	slightly
color	uneven	uneven	uneven
Distribution of flesh	marginal and	marginal and	marginal and
color	central	central	central
Hollow center size	medium	large	medium
Sweetness	weak to	strong	weak to
	medium		medium
Texture when tasted	fine	fine	fine
Acidity	weak to	medium	medium
	medium
Time of Flowering	very early	early	very early
Harvest Interval	Late-	Early-	Early-
	November	December	December
	through	through	through
	Mid-April	Mid-April	Mid-April
Type of Bearing	partially	partially	partially
	everbearing	everbearing	everbearing

PEST AND DISEASE RESISTANCE AND SUSCEPTIBILITY

	TABLE 3
	Madeira	Biscayne	Marathon
Reaction to Pests
Tetranychus urticae	susceptible	susceptible	susceptible
Aphis spp.	susceptible	susceptible	susceptible
Lygus hesperus	susceptible	susceptible	susceptible
Reaction To Diseases
Botrytis fruit rot	moderately	moderately	moderately
	susceptible	susceptible	susceptible
Powdery mildew	moderately	susceptible	susceptible
	susceptible
Verticillium wilt	moderately	susceptible	susceptible
	resistant
Strawberry Mottle Virus	moderately	moderately	moderately
	resistant	resistant	resistant
Xanthomonas fragariae	moderately	moderately	moderately
	susceptible	susceptible	susceptible

ISOZYME ANALYSIS

In addition to the morphological description above, the new cultivar, Madeira, has been analyzed to obtain an indication of its genetic makeup to provide further means for identifying the new variety and distinguishing it from some other somewhat similar and/or related strawberry varieties. Specifically, leaf samples of Madeira, Biscayne, and Marathon were analyzed by electrophoresis for isozyme patterns of the enzymes phosphoglucoisomerase ("PGI"), leucine aminopeptidase ("LAP") and phosphoglucomutase ("PGM"). See J. Amer. Soc. Hort. Sci. 106:684-687. Isozyme characterization of the three varieties is presented in Table 4, with the letters representing the banding patterns for each enzyme as designated in the above-identified article.

TABLE 4
ISOZYME ANALYSIS FOR MADEIRA,
BISCAYNE AND MARATHON
	Locus	Madeira	Biscayne	Marathon
	PGI	A1	A1	A1
	LAP	B1	B3	B3
	PGM	C2	C4	C4

Claims

1. A new and distinct variety of strawberry plant, substantially as shown and described.