The Splendour strawberry variety is doing ‘very well’ for Queensland farmer Ray Daniels. Although he had hoped to have 5 million plants, the 3.5 million he did get in the ground have grown ‘very well’ according to him, and yield well above the average even in a ‘down’ season such as this one. “We can pick up to 1.3 kilos off one bush in a good year. This year we were getting about 1.2 kilos, but the average yield is only about 900 grams for other varieties,” he said. Yield was only down because of excessive heat over the winter months in Stanthorpe, where the runners are planted, Mr Daniels said.
The Splendour variety sells well, so gives retailers a competitive advantage, and is easier to pick making it a positive for everyone involved, according got Mr Daniels.
The frozen berry market is the future for the Splendour variety, Mr Daniels said, because the variety is sweet, and very large in size it is perfect for picking easily, and selling in bulk to a market that is increasing in size. “The frozen market is all we are looking at in the future. We have 12 growers planting Splendour already, and it’s being marketed by Berry Yummy together with Plant Sciences for their genetics (from Watsonville, California) in Australia.” The Splendour’s dark red colour and size makes it appeal to consumers, he added.
Mr Daniels grows the US-bred variety at his property in Wamuran, above Brisbane, and he has been developing the plant material since it arrived in 2007. “It had to go through three years of quarantine, and we grew to about three million tissue cultures over the next few years,” he said. Rights to the Splendour variety are owned by Andrew & Williamson.
The Splendour variety is a good winter producing berry for Mr Daniels, but he says there are other varieties on the way that will be ‘just as exciting’ to the market. “We’ve got a new summer variety called reliance we’re starting, and one called Arabella which is looking like it will perform a lot better than the other variety, which hadn’t performed that well.”
For more information
Ray Daniels
Sunray Strawberries
Phone: +61731065500
E-mail: admin@sunraystrawberriess.com.au
Website: www.sunraystrawberries.com.au