5 Strawberry Cultivars Proven To Beat the Heat
June 8, 2021 Five strawberry cultivars — ‘Albion’, ‘Sweet Charlie’, ‘Camarosa’, ‘Camino Real’, and ‘Chandler’ — excel in a hot and semi-arid climate typical to Texas, according to a study published in the Journal of Agricultural Food and Chemistry.
Researchers grew 10 common strawberry cultivars — seven spring-bearing and three day-neutral varieties — in northwest Texas. While monitoring plant growth and yields, they found eight of the cultivars had plant survival rates of more than 96% before the first harvest.
The day-neutral varieties had the lowest total berry weight per plant.
The team then measured the characteristics of ripe berries, including color, sugar content, acidity, and aroma compounds. Their results showed red intensity was not linked to berry sweetness; in fact, the redder varieties had more citric acid, which made them taste more sour than sweet. Taste tests on berry purees showed that desirable flavors were related to the varieties’ sugar content and 20 aroma compounds.
In a study of day-neutral strawberry varieties, ‘Albion’ was among those showing the highest yields and greatest sugar content. Photo by Kaitlyn Orde
Perhaps surprisingly, tasters ranked the two varieties that grew the fewest and smallest fruits as having the most intense flavors.
The researchers concluded that ‘Albion’, ‘Sweet Charlie’, ‘Camarosa’, ‘Camino Real’, and ‘Chandler’ had the best flavor and aroma.
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