Strawberries

Vegetable breeder Rijk Zwaan enters soft fruit breeding

Expanding its product profile, vegetable seed breeder Rijk Zwaan has entered soft fruit breeding. Since the company’s 1924 foundation, Rijk Zwaan has been active in vegetable breeding. The company is now launching a new breeding... more »

UC Davis breeding program releases five fungus-resistant varieties

The UC Davis Strawberry Breeding Program is releasing five new strawberry varieties that resist the soilborne disease Fusarium wilt, while also offering high yields and improved fruit quality. UC Eclipse, UC Golden Gate, UC Keystone,... more »

Bernadine Strik, berry research innovator, dies

Bernadine Strik, a leading U.S. berry authority, has died. Strik, 60, died on April 14 in Corvallis, Oregon. Strik, a veteran Oregon State University professor of horticulture and Extension berry crop specialist and researcher, was... more »

Steam can help control weeds, soil pathogens

Researchers are examining how growers can control weeds and soilborne pathogens through steam and alternative chemicals. A session during the March 7-10 North American Strawberry Symposium in San Luis Obispo, California, examined research into weed... more »

High turnout marks strawberry conference

Despite torrential rains that forced cancellation of planned field tours, the North American Strawberry Symposium (NASS) was successful, although it was closely followed by deluged California berry fields from “atmospheric river” events. The North American... more »

Bumblebee pollination brings higher yields

While it is well known that bumblebees pollinating strawberry crops lead to yield and quality improvements, research has shown it can also impact positively on the shelf life of the fruit, according to a news... more »

AgBiome’s Theia fungicide approved in California

AgBiome Inc.’s Theia fungicide can be used throughout the U.S. to treat numerous plant diseases in fruit, vegetable and tree nut crops, with the recent approval by California regulators. Theia fungicide is the second proprietary solution... more »

California farms statewide hit by storms and floods

Warm atmospheric river storms wreaked havoc on California last week, causing widespread flooding from rain and snowmelt, which overfilled rivers and creeks, displaced residents, washed out roads and damaged agriculture. In Tulare County, flooding forced... more »