‘Mojave’ is typical of short-day (June bearing) strawberry cultivars and produces fruit over an extended period when treated appropriately in arid, subtropical climates. When treated with appropriate planting regimes, ‘Mojave’ has larger fruit and produces individual-plant yields greater than that of ‘Camarosa’ (U.S. Plant Pat. No. 8,708). It further produces similar quantities of fruit per plant but develops larger and higher quality fruit than ‘Ventana’ (U.S. Plant Pat. No. 13,649). ‘Mojave’ also produces a larger fraction of marketable fruit than any of the comparison cultivars.

Patent
   PP22589
Priority
Jan 29 2010
Filed
Jan 29 2010
Issued
Mar 20 2012
Expiry
Oct 29 2030
Extension
273 days
Assg.orig
Entity
unknown
2
5
n/a
1. A new and distinct cultivar of strawberry plant having the characteristics substantially as described and illustrated herein.

Genus and species: The strawberry cultivar of this invention is botanically identified as Fragaria×ananassa Duch.

Variety denomination: The variety denomination is ‘Mojave’.

This invention relates to a new and distinctive short-day type cultivar designated as ‘Mojave’. This new cultivar was the result of a cross performed in 2004 between the cultivar ‘Palomar’ (U.S. Plant Pat. No. 19,472) and unreleased germplasm accession Cal 1.57-601 (unpatented). Accession Cal 1.57-601 was chosen as a parent due to its large, dark colored, and high quality fruit and also due to its high early-season productivity. ‘Mojave’ was first fruited at a center near Irvine, Calif. in 2005, where it was selected, originally designated Cal 4.44-603, and propagated asexually by runners. Following selection and during testing, the plant of this selection was designated ‘C227’. It was later designated ‘Mojave’ for the purposes of introduction into commerce. Asexual propagules from this original source have been tested at Watsonville, Calif., in Irvine, Calif., and to a limited extent in grower fields starting in 2007. The cultivar is stable and reproduces true to type in successive generations of asexual reproduction.

‘Mojave’ is typical of short-day (June bearing) strawberry cultivars and produces fruit over an extended period when treated appropriately in arid, subtropical climates. When treated with appropriate planting regimes, ‘Mojave’ has larger fruit and produces individual-plant yields greater than that of ‘Camarosa’ (U.S. Plant Pat. No. 8,708). It further produces similar quantities of fruit per plant but develops larger and higher quality fruit than ‘Ventana’ (U.S. Plant Pat. No. 13,469). ‘Mojave’ also produces a larger fraction of marketable fruit than any of the comparison cultivars.

The figures depict various characteristics of the ‘Mojave’ cultivar.

FIG. 1 shows the general flowering and fruiting characteristics of the plant in a field planting.

FIG. 2 shows a typical leaf at mid-season.

FIG. 3 shows representative mid-season fruit.

FIG. 4 shows a cross-section of representative mid-season fruit.

‘Mojave’ is typical of short-day strawberry cultivars and produces fruit over an extended period when treated appropriately in arid, subtropical climates. The production pattern for ‘Mojave’ is similar to that of ‘Ventana’ and ‘Palomar’, although it is somewhat earlier to initiate fruiting with most cultural treatments than ‘Camarosa’. ‘Mojave’ initiates fruiting slightly later than ‘Ventana’ when established in late fall. ‘Mojave’ will be of special interest for winter plantings, where ‘Camarosa’, ‘Ventana’, and ‘Palomar’ have been successful, and in summer plantings where ‘Pajaro’ (U.S. Plant Pat. No. 4,538) and ‘Chandler’ (U.S. Plant Pat. No. 5,262) have been successful. Color descriptions are drawn to the Munsell Color Chart.

Fruiting plants of ‘Mojave’ are similar in morphology to ‘Camarosa’, although slightly more open and erect and somewhat smaller than ‘Ventana’, throughout most of the production season with most cultural treatments. ‘Mojave’ plants are larger than those of ‘Palomar’ and similar in size to those of ‘Camarosa’ in most production environments. Comparative statistics for foliar characteristics near mid-season are given for ‘Mojave’ and three comparison cultivars in Table 1. Individual leaflets for ‘Mojave’ are larger than all three comparison cultivars. Leaves (including petioles) for ‘Mojave’ are similar in length to ‘Ventana’ and ‘Camarosa’, but with shorter petioles and larger leaflets. The leaves are longer than those for ‘Palomar’. The adaxial (upper) surfaces of leaves for ‘Mojave’ are similar in color to ‘Camarosa’ and darker than ‘Ventana’ leaves at mid season, whereas the abaxial (lower) surface is somewhat lighter in color. Leaves of ‘Mojave’ have consistently more concavity than ‘Camarosa’, less concavity than ‘Palomar’ and are similar to those of ‘Ventana’. ‘Mojave’ leaves have similar shape and number of serrations at mid season as the comparison cultivars.

TABLE 1
Foliar and plant characteristics for ‘Mojave’,
‘Camarosa’, ‘Palomar’, and ‘Ventana’.
Cultivar
Foliar Character ‘Camarosa’ ‘Ventana’ ‘Palomar’ ‘Mojave’
Plant height (mm)
mean 299 277 262 291
range 280-320 250-300 250-290 270-300
Plant spread (mm)
mean 431 432 388 433
range 395-490 370-485 360-455 400-470
Mid-tier leaflet
Length (mm)
mean 100 92 88 108
range 93-105 55-110 76-93 96-120
Width (mm)
mean 87 79 72 87
range 80-100 73-90 65-80 77-95
Mid-tier leaf
Length (mm)
mean 290 314 244 308
range 267-325 235-350 160-282 270-400
Width (mm)
mean 178 169 156 181
range 152-210 150-190 128-175 165-210
Leaf components
Petiole length
(mm)
mean 194 220 169 201
range 170-220 190-240 150-175 165-245
Petiole diameter
(mm)
mean 5.1 4.9 4.5 4.8
range 4-6 4-6 4-5 4-6
Petiolule length
(mm)
mean 8.5 6.1 5.5 7.6
range 6-10 5-7 4-6 6-9
# leaflets/leaf 3 3 3, rarely 3
4 or 5
Leaf convexity Some convex, flat to very concave to
most flat to concave very
slight concave
concave
Serrations
number/leaf 19.5 20.6 20.6 20.5
range 18-21 18-23 18-23 18-24
shape rounded, semi- semi- rounded,
some semi- pointed pointed some
pointed semi-
pointed
Leaf pubescence light- light- moderate- moderate
moderate moderate light
Petiole pubescence
density heavy moderate- heavy moderate-
heavy heavy
direction perpen- perpen- perpen- perpen-
dicular dicular dicular dicular
to acropetal
Petiole color 2.5 GY 8/9 2.5 GY 8/9 2.5 GY 8/9 5 GY 8/8
(Munsell)
Stipule length
(mm)
mean 33.8 31.9 33.3 35.9
range 30-45 25-40 25-41 19-40
Stipule color
core 7.5 GY 9/4 2.5 GY 9/8 10 Y 9/9 2.5 GY 9/8
margins 7.5 GY 8/7 10 Y 8/11 2.5 GY 9/8 5 GY 7/10
Stolon base 1.7 1.5 2.3 2.3
diameter (mm)
Stolons per 28.0 18.8 25.5 22.5
nursery mother
plant
Venation
pattern pinnate pinnate pinnate pinnate
color 10 GY 7/8 5 GY 8/8 2.5 GY 8/9 7.5 G 8/7

‘Mojave’ is moderately resistant to powdery mildew (Sphaerotheca macularis), Verticillium wilt (Verticillium dahliae), and common leaf spot (Ramularia tulasnei). It is moderately susceptible to Anthracnose crown rot (Colletotrichum acutatum), and is highly susceptible to Phytophthora crown rot (Phytophthora cactorum) (Table 2 ). When treated properly, it has tolerance to two-spotted spider mites (Tetranychus urticae), equal to that for the comparison cultivars. ‘Mojave’ is tolerant to strawberry viruses encountered in California.

TABLE 2.
Disease resistance scores for ‘Mojave’ and three comparison
cultivars. Phytophthora and Verticillium scores were obtained
in evaluations conducted between 2004-2006;
Colletotrichum was evaluated between 2005-2006.
Phytophthora Verticillium Colletotrichum
Resistance Resistance Resistance
Score Score Score
Genotype (5 = best) (5 = best) (5 = best)
‘Camarosa’ 3.06 3.08 3.1
‘Ventana’ 2.06 2.89 2.7
‘Palomar’ 2.81 4.14 3.0
‘Mojave’ 2.31 3.75 2.7

‘Mojave’ is similar to other California short-day strawberry cultivars (e. g. ‘Ventana’, ‘Camarosa’, and ‘Palomar’) in that it will flower over an extended period and into spring or summer, given appropriate local temperature and horticultural conditions. With very early plantation establishment (before October 1 in California), ‘Mojave’ produces fruit as early as ‘Ventana’ and ‘Palomar’, and earlier than ‘Camarosa’, with similar seasonal productivity to ‘Ventana’. With later plantation establishment ‘Mojave’ initiates fruit later than ‘Ventana’, and is similar in production timing to ‘Camarosa’ and ‘Palomar’, with slightly lower seasonal productivity than ‘Ventana’. Comparative statistics for flower and fruit characteristics near mid-season are given for the four cultivars in Table 4. The primary flowers for ‘Mojave’ are smaller than ‘Ventana’ and ‘Camarosa’, with a calyx that is usually larger than the corolla on primary fruit, and much smaller than ‘Palomar’. The calyx for ‘Mojave’ varies in position, but frequently has a slight indent later in the season. The fruit shape for ‘Mojave’ can vary but is larger than the comparison cultivars, and is typically a short to medium and very symmetric conic. It is easily distinguished by fruit shape from ‘Camarosa’ (shortened and flattened conic), or ‘Ventana’ (medium symmetrical conic), and ‘Palomar’ (short symmetrical conic). External and internal fruit color for ‘Mojave’ is distinctly darker than the comparison cultivars (Table 3). Achenes vary from yellow to dark red, and are even with the fruit surface or slightly indented.

‘Mojave’ has been tested under a variety of cultural regimes, and optimal performance is obtained when nursery treatments and nutritional programs similar to those of ‘Camarosa’, ‘Ventana’, and ‘Palomar’ are used. In general, plants of ‘Mojave’ are equally vigorous as ‘Camarosa’ although ‘Mojave’ initiates growth more rapidly after transplant. ‘Mojave’ is less vigorous than ‘Ventana’, with very early season planting, but more vigorous than ‘Palomar’. ‘Mojave’ retains excellent fruit quality in summer planting systems.

When treated with appropriate planting regimes, ‘Mojave’ has larger fruit and produces individual-plant yields greater than that of ‘Camarosa’. It produces similar quantities of fruit per plant, but develops larger and higher quality fruit than ‘Ventana’ (Table 5 ). Commercial appearance ratings have been equal to or better than those for all of the comparison cultivars, and are substantially larger than ‘Camarosa’ and ‘Ventana’. ‘Mojave’ produces a larger fraction of marketable fruit than any of the comparison cultivars. Fruit for ‘Mojave’ is slightly less firm than fruit from ‘Ventana’, and much less firm than the other comparison cultivars. Subjectively, ‘Mojave’ has outstanding flavor. The fruit will be exceptional for both fresh market and processing, and will be useful for home gardening purposes.

TABLE 3
Foliar and fruit color characteristics for ‘Mojave’ and
three comparison cultivars.
Color Cultivar
Character ‘Camarosa’ ‘Ventana’ ‘Palomar’ ‘Mojave’
Leaf color
(CIELAB)
Adaxial
L*
mean 37.1 40.0 35.2 38.0
range 34.8-41.3 33.2-39.2 33.7-37.0 35.8-42.3
a*
mean −13.1 −10.8 −8.9 −11.6
range −11.5-−16.8 −9.1-−13.3 −7.0-−11.9 −8.1-−14.1
b*
mean 16.6 15.5 11.3 15.6
range 15.3-17.7 12.8-19.5 9.1-12.3 11.4-21.5
Munsell 5 GY 5/6 2.5 GY 4/3 5 GY 4/3 5 GY 5/6
Abaxial
L*mean 51.5 48.5 49.0 51.6
range 48.8-53.4 45.6-50.2 36.3-50.6 47.9-59.3
a*mean −14.7 −12.3 −12.2 −14.1
range −13.7-−16.5 −11.3-−13.3 −11.2-−13.3 −13.0-−14.9
b*mean 22.3 20.7 18.6 21.2
range 19.6-26.2 17.6-22.7 14.7-22.2 18.9-23.7
Munsell 7.5 GY 8/7 7.5 GY 8/7 7.5 GY 9/4 7.5 GY 9/4
Fruit color
(CIELAB)
External
L*
mean 36.5 34.4 33.7 31.7
range 33.2-40.0 31.7-36.3 28.9-36.5 28.8-34.6
a*
mean 33.3 33.6 34.4 36.0
range 28.6-39.3 25.9-38.7 24.3-39.7 29.7-39.1
b*
mean 17.9 15.8 15.4 15.0
range 10.9-26.2 10.4-20.9 11.5-23.6 10.5-19.2
Munsell 7.5 R 4/11 7.5 R 5/13 5 R 3/7 5 R 3/7
Internal
L*
mean 53.7 52.4 48.4 52.5
a*
range 44.2-60.9 48.6-57.8 42.1-54.9 49.7-56.4
mean 29.6 28.8 24.7 23.2
range 24.8-33.8 23.9-33.9 21.1-29.0 17.3-40.0
b*
mean 26.3 23.7 20.2 21.5
range 21.4-30.1 18.1-27.5 18.2-23.8 19.0-24.1
Munsell 7.5 R 5/13 5 R 5/13 7.5 R 6/12 5 R 6/11
Achene color 2.5 Y 7/10 10 Y 8/11 7.5 R 8/12 7.5 Y 8/12
Munsell

TABLE 4
Flower and fruit characteristics for ‘Mojave’ and
three comparison cultivars.
Cultivar
Character ‘Camarosa’ ‘Nentana’ ‘Palomar’ ‘Mojave’
Petal number
mean 5.7 6.2 5.7 5.6
range 5-8 5-8 5-6 5-7
Petal shape
apex truncate truncate truncate truncate
to slightly to slightly to slightly to slightly
base obtuse obtuse obtuse obtuse
margin attenuate attenuate attenuate attenuate
entire entire entire entire
Petal length (mm)
mean 14.2 15.1 18.3 15.5
range 13-16 14-17 15-21 14-16
Petal width (mm)
mean 14.8 16.9 18.2 15.2
range 13-16 16-19 15-22 14-17
Flower position most even even to even to even to
(relative to foliage) some exposed exposed exposed
exposed
Calyx diam.(mm)
mean 48.1 45.2 57.5 36.1
range 40-52 42-52 51-61 28-45
Corolla diam.(mm)
mean 37.4 39.7 44.4 35.0
range 32-44 38-42 42-47 30-40
Sepal length (mm)
mean 20.6 19.7 23.5 14.3
range 16-25 19-22 19-28 12-16
Sepal width (mm)
mean 11.5 9.8 11.7 6.2
range 10-13 8-11 10-13 5-8
Sepal color 7.5 GY 5/7 2.5 GY 8/9 7.5 GY 7/9 5 GY 6/8
(Munsell)
Pedicel length
(mm)
mean 229 259 183 238
range 220-240 230-290 150-210 190-290
Pedicel diameter
(mm)
mean 3.1 4.3 3.7 4.8
range 2-4 3-5 3-5 4-6
Pedicel color 2.5 GY 6/8 2.5 GY 9/8 5 GY 8/8 7.5 GY 8/7
Fruit shape
Fruit length (mm)
mean 48.7 50.5 49.9 50.1
range 43-53 45-60 43-55 45-55
Fruit width (mm)
mean 40.7 45.2 44.4 44.4
range 37-51 41-53 38-55 40-52
Length/ width
ratio 1.21 1.12 1.13 1.13
range 1.0-1.4 1.0-1.2 1.0-1.3 1.0-1.3
subjective Obovate- Medium Short Short-
flat conic conic Medium
conic
Primary/secondary
fruit comparison
size (subjective) 40-60% 50-60% 50-60% 50-60%
shape similar similar similar similar
shape, more shape shape shape
conic
Extent/size of small- Small small- small-
hollow core absent absent absent
Calyx
position indented- even- even- even-
neck reflexed indented indented
size relative to equal or equal or equal or equal or
fruit less less greater greater
than fruit than fruit than fruit than fruit
diameter diameter diameter diameter
Seed position indented- even- even- even-
extruded extruded indented indented
Adherence of Weak Inter- Weak Weak
Calyx to Fruit mediate

Flower and plant measurements obtained on Apr. 3, 2008; fruit measurements obtained between May 10-20, 2008.

TABLE 5
Performance of ‘Mojave’ and three comparison cultivars evaluated in
Watsonville, CA between 2008-9. All plants for these trials were
harvested from a commercial nursery near Macdoel, CA between
October 15-16, and transplanted after 6-7 days to supplemental storage.
Fruit harvest was initiated in early April and continued through
the last week of August. (52″ 2-row beds, 17,300 plants/acre).
Appearance Fruit
Yield Score Size
Item (g/plant) (5 = best) (g/fruit) Firmness
‘Camarosa’ 2,137 2.7 28.6 10.1
‘Ventana’ 2,616 3.0 33.3  9.8
‘Palomar’ 2,667 3.7 34.1 10.4
‘Mojave’ 2,271 3.8 36.1  9.5

Shaw, Douglas V., Larson, Kirk D.

Patent Priority Assignee Title
PP25223, Jan 22 2013 The United States of America, as represented by The Secretary of Agriculture Strawberry plant named ‘Sweet Sunrise’
PP25300, Jan 22 2013 The United States of America, as represented by The Secretary of Agriculture Strawberry plant named ‘Charm’
Patent Priority Assignee Title
PP13469, Feb 06 2001 Regents of the University of California, The Strawberry plant named `Ventana`
PP19472, Jan 16 2007 The Regents of the University of California Strawberry plant named ‘Palomar’
PP4538, Oct 23 1978 The Regents of the University of California Strawberry plant
PP5262, Dec 23 1982 The Regents of the University of California Strawberry plant `Chandler`
PP8708, Apr 01 1993 The Regents of the University of California Strawberry plant called `Camarosa`
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Mar 12 2010SHAW, DOUGLAS V The Regents of the University of CaliforniaASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNORS INTEREST SEE DOCUMENT FOR DETAILS 0242820573 pdf
Apr 21 2010LARSON, KIRK D The Regents of the University of CaliforniaASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNORS INTEREST SEE DOCUMENT FOR DETAILS 0242820551 pdf
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