Commercial Growers

2011 Strawberry Runner Order Form & Pricelist
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Trial Varieties
Growers who would like to run trials of new varieties
can do so by contacting our office.

Please note that all orders for Western Australia and Tasmania, and export to overseas incur additional fees for quarantine inspections, dipping & handling, documentation fees etc prior to delivery.

Please contact our office for further details.

FESTIVAL (Bred at the University of Florida by Craig Chandler)
The major variety grown in Queensland. Fruit Production: commences early (but not as early as Rubygem) and continues throughout the season. Flesh is bright red with good flavour. Fruit are firm, attractive and flavourful under a range of weather conditions. Very little rain damage. As with Camarosa, flavour will be best when harvested fully mature. Fruit are well displayed on long stems needing fewer pickers, although some smalls may occur. Festival produces very few misshapen or unmarketable fruit. The easiest variety to pack. Plants: Runner production can be high in fruiting fields if planted too early. General: Transports well, and fruit will not go soft if left on the plant for a few days before picking. Very rain resistant - probably the best of all varieties.

FLORIDA FORTUNA
(Bred at the University of Florida by Craig Chandler)
A short day cultivar. An open plant with long pedicels, making it very easy to harvest. Fruit is firm yet juicy, and colour is glossy, bright to dark-red with a warm-red interior and smooth appearance. Fruit are mostly conical in shape, with some early season fruit being elongated. The berry weighs between 21 and 23g, slightly heavier than Festival. Fruit production starts slightly earlier than Festival and peaks at different times to Festival. JP TREASURE (From J & P Research, Inc. of Naples Florida) Treasure is a new and distinct short-day cultivar of strawberry plant, which produces sweet and firm fruits. Compared to Camarosa, Treasure produces more consistent conic fruit shape and the colour is more dark red. It produces higher yields and larger quantities of early-season fruits than Camarosa when grown in central and south Florida. Fruiting plant size of Treasure is smaller and more compact than Camarosa. This information was taken from the website: www.uspto.gov For more information search for Patent No PP12, 414.

QHI RUBYGEM (Bred by QDPI)
Fruit production: Fruit production commences very early, and continues throughout the season. Fruit: Fruit are attractive, exceptional flavour, uniformly shaped, moderately dark red, glossy, short conical to slightly wedged, medium to large sized (20g), firm and resilient, with resistance to rain damage. Flesh is dark red, of medium acidity and consistently good flavour. Fruit are well displayed, and easily harvested. Plants: Calyx is quite large and some petal retention may occur. General: Growers need to be aware that blotchy ripening can occur in wet weather if nutritional balance is not correct (Example: Nitrogen, Calcium and Potassium).

QHI EARLIBLUSH (Bred by QDPI)
Released 2002. Fruit production: Very early, earlier than Rubygem and continues throughout the season. Fruit: attractive glossy red, slightly firmer than Chandler, conical, medium sized, with resistance to rain damage. Fruit will soften if over fertilised. Well displayed and easily harvested, although some smalls similar to Kabarla may occur. For best flavour and sweetness, pick when fully ripe. Plants: very productive, especially early in the season. General: Especially suited to early production.

KABARLA (Bred by QDPI)
Fruit production: very high, very early yields. Starts producing mid May and continues for full season. Fruit: is well displayed and easily harvested. Good flavour, if not over fertilised, very resistant to rain damage, transports well. Some irregular shaped fruit occurs on the second flush around early August, especially if given too much nitrogen. Smalls increase to about 20% after mid August. Plants: this is a low nitrogen variety often planted on 2nd year plastic. Make sure you use sap analysis to keep the sap nitrate levels within the ideal range for the best yields, shape and eating quality.

REDLANDS JOY (Bred by QDPI)
Fruit production: High yields, Can be as early as Kabarla and produces throughout the season. Fruit: Large fruit. One of the sweetest strawberries in Australia. Softer and a little lighter in colour than Californian varieties. Texture, similar to Chandler. More tender skin than Californian varieties. Resists rain damage. Plants: Fruit are well displayed and easily harvested. General: Excellent consumer acceptability. Very popular for local sales.

QHI SUGARBABY (Bred by QDPI)
A mid-season variety. Fruit production: Fruit production commences in early June. Fruit: Fruit are exceptionally attractive red, glossy, conical, L to XL sized (20g), firm and resilient, with resistance to rain damage. Flesh is bright red, of low acidity, and excellent sweet flavour. Fruit are well displayed, and easily harvested. General: Yields are often low under current practices but the fruit eating quality is exceptionally high. Trials to improve yields by adjusting nutrition and runner source are underway. Sugarbaby received the highest score in the Better Berries Field Day taste tests at Redlands in July 2003. Well suited to local high taste niche market sales.

LOWANNA (Bred by Victoria Department of Agriculture)
Fruit production: It is a day neutral variety forming a medium dense plant. Highly productive. Fruit: Fruit is uniformly red in colour, large and very glossy all season. All fruits are uniformly conical. Flesh is light red throughout. Higher production than Selva but fruit can be soft if the correct nutritional program is not followed.

GALEXIA (From California Giant, Inc)
A new and distinct variety that is a short-day style of plant with a strong ever-bearing tendency, producing high levels of fruit early in the fruiting season, and continuing production through the summer and into the autumn months. Galexia displays very good tolerance to a number of soilborne, foliar and fruit diseases, and pollinates exceptionally well in both inclement and ideal conditions, retaining size, shape, high gloss, and overall good appearance throughout the entire season. This information was taken from the website: www.uspto.gov For more information search for Patent No 20040078856 (Listed as Cal Giant 5)

CAL GIANT 3 (Bred by David Small of Cal Giant Inc in California)
Released 2003. Fruit production: A mid to late season variety with production commencing earlier than Camarosa and similar high yields. Started 2-3 weeks before Camarosa and produced heavily in Qld through June/July 2003. Being selected on non fumigated soil high levels of resistance to a wide range of diseases are claimed. Fruit: very attractive, red, highly glossy, conical, large sized (20+g), firm and resilient. Flesh is bright red, of good flavour. Fruit are well displayed and easily harvested, but may suffer from some rain damage and have a tendency to ripen from tips. This variety could also do very well in southern states, with a late April early May planting.