Three new strawberry varieties that seem to combine good productivity and organoleptic qualities. Geoplant Vivai presented them on 2nd May 2017 at the Corbara facility in Cesena.
Secondo Danesi
The varieties in question are FragolAurea, Olympia and Tea. They are part of the company breeding programme and have been tested for a few years. Geoplant sole administrator, Secondo Danesi, and technician Michele Montanari presented them.
Michele Montanari
Strawberries were grown in greenhouses by Maurizio Corbara. "FragolAurea does not deform and is quite early. Ripening is more progressive than other varieties. It produces 900 grams per plant on average, plus 200 grams if remontant. Plants need to be transplanted quickly, around mid-June, and fertilisation must be carried out carefully, especially in Autumn."
FragolAurea
Tea is very rustic and can produce up to 1 kg per plant. Fruits have a uniform shape already during the first harvest. As it's rustic, powdery mildew and anthracnose pose no problem. Grades are good at first and get smaller as harvesting goes on. The colour is very bright. Transplants are carried out in late July/early August.
Tea
"The Olympia variety is earlier than Tea and production exceeds 1.1 kg per plant. Fruit is compact and plants are vigorous. The first harvest may see big fruit but sizes get smaller."
Olympia
At FreshPlaza, we managed to taste all three varieties. We believe they represent a good compromise between productivity and flavour. Of course it all depends on harvesting time. We tried the ones that looked like they had a higher Brix level.
