Strawberry plant named ‘Driscoll Ojai’
This invention relates to a new and distinct variety of strawberry named ‘Driscoll Ojai’. The variety is similar to the varieties ‘Driscoll El Capitan’ and ‘Driscoll Venice’. The variety is distinguished from ‘Driscoll El Capitan’ and ‘Driscoll Venice,’ in particular, by its height, longer petiole length, longer fruiting truss length, open canopy density and moderate susceptibility to powdery mildew.
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Latin name of the genus and species of the plant claimed: The variety is botanically identified as Fragaria×ananassa.
Variety Denomination: The strawberry variety denomination is ‘Driscoll Ojai’.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTIONThe new variety originated as a result of a controlled cross between male cultivar ‘Driscoll El Capitan’ (U.S. Plant Pat. No. PP 14,005) and female cultivar ‘Driscoll Venice’ (U.S. Plant Pat. No. PP 14,062) in an ongoing breeding program, and was discovered as a seedling in Ventura County, Calif. in 1999. The original seedling of the new cultivar was asexually propagated by stolons in a Nursery in Shasta County, Calif. Propagules were transplanted to a controlled breeding plot in Ventura County, Calif., where the variety was identified and selected for further evaluation. ‘Driscoll Ojai’ was subsequently asexually propagated and underwent further testing in Ventura County, Calif. for four years. This propagation and testing has demonstrated that the combination of traits disclosed herein which characterize the new variety are fixed and retained true to type through successive generations of asexual reproduction.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTIONThe present invention relates to a new and distinct variety of strawberry named ‘Driscoll Ojai’. The variety is botanically identified as Fragaria×ananassa. The new variety is distinguished from other varieties by a number of characteristics as set forth in Tables 1-4.
COMPARISON TO SIMILAR VARIETIESThe varieties which we believe to be similar to ‘Driscoll Ojai’ from those known to us are ‘Driscoll El Capitan’ (U.S. Plant Pat. No. PP 14,005) and ‘Driscoll Venice’ (U.S. Plant Pat. No. PP 14,062). There are several characteristics of the new variety that are different from, or not possessed by ‘Driscoll El Capitan’ and ‘Driscoll Venice’. For example, the new variety is taller, has a longer petiole length, a longer fruiting truss length, an open canopy density and is moderately susceptible to powdery mildew. Additional characteristics of ‘Driscoll Ojai’ include a strong sweetness with a seasonal average brix of 9.3. Furthermore, additional petal characteristics of ‘Dricoll Ojai’ include an orbicular petal shape, a rounded petal apex, an entire petal margin, a concavo-convex petal base and a typical and observed petal number of 5. Additional sepal characteristics of ‘Driscoll Ojai’ include an elliptic sepal shape and a typical and observed sepal number of 10. The sepal apex of ‘Driscoll Ojai’ can be either convex or complex and the sepal margin of ‘Driscoll Ojai’ can be either entire or serrate. Additional leaf characteristics of ‘Driscoll Ojai’ include a typical and observed rounded leaflet shape and a rounded leaf apex.
‘Driscoll Ojai’ is distinguished from its parent, ‘Driscoll El Capitan’ and ‘Driscoll Venice’ as indicated in Tables 1-4.
The accompanying photographs show typical specimens of the new variety, including fruit, foliage and flowers, in color as nearly true as it is reasonably possible to make in color illustrations of these characteristics.
The following detailed description of the new variety is based upon observations taken of plants harvested from a nursery in Bonanza, Oreg. in September and October, 2004 and held in cold storage until planting in Ventura County, Calif. in October, 2004. Plants were grown in raised beds of soil under conditions typical of commercial strawberry production in Ventura County, Calif. Fruits were harvested twice weekly from January, 2005 to May, 2005 for yield determination. Observations of ‘Driscoll Ojai’, ‘Driscoll El Capitan’, and ‘Driscoll Venice’ were made in side by side comparison in April, 2005. Color designations, color descriptions, and other phenotypical descriptions may deviate from the stated values and descriptions depending upon variation in environmental, seasonal, climatic and cultural conditions. Colors are described and the most similar color designations are provided from the Royal Horticultural Society (RHS) Colour Chart.
PROPAGATIONThe new variety is principally propagated by way of stolons. Although propagation by stolons is presently preferred, other known methods of propagating strawberry plants may be employed.
CHARACTERISTICS OF THE NEW VARIETYInformation on the new variety is presented in Tables 1, 2, 3 and 4. In the tables, the flowers described are secondary flowers except where indicated. The fruit described is the secondary fruit on seven months old plants. Fruit and flower measurements are an average of both primary and secondary fruit and flowers.
Table 1 provides information on the plant and fruit characteristics of the new variety ‘Driscoll Ojai’ compared with characteristics of ‘Driscoll El Capitan’ and ‘Driscoll Venice’. Table 2 provides additional information of the plant and fruit characteristics of the new variety ‘Driscoll Ojai’ compared with characteristics of the varieties ‘Driscoll El Capitan’ and ‘Driscoll Venice’. Table 3 provides reactions of the new variety to stresses, pests and diseases compared with reactions of the varieties ‘Driscoll El Capitan’ and ‘Driscoll Venice’. Table 4 provides isozyme characteristics of the new variety as compared to that of the varieties ‘Driscoll El Capitan’ and ‘Driscoll Venice’.
In addition to the morphological description above, the new cultivar ‘Driscoll Ojai’ has been analyzed to obtain an indication of its genetic makeup to provide further means for identifying the new variety and distinguishing it from other somewhat similar and/or related strawberry varieties. Specifically, leaf samples of ‘Driscoll Ojai’. ‘Driscoll El Capitan’ and ‘Driscoll Venice’ were analyzed by electrophoresis for isozyme patterns of the enzymes phosphoglucoisomerase (“PGI”), leucine aminopeptidase (“LAP”) and phosphoglucomutase (“PGM”). See J. Amer. Soc. Hort. Sci. 106:684-687. Isozyme characterization of the three varieties is presented in Table 4, with the letters representing the banding patterns for each enzyme as designated in the above-identified article.
Claims
1. A new and distinct variety of strawberry plant, substantially as shown and described.
Type: Grant
Filed: Oct 4, 2005
Date of Patent: Mar 11, 2008
Patent Publication Number: 20070079406
Assignee: Driscoll Strawberry Associates, Inc. (Watsonville, CA)
Inventors: Amado Amorao (Camarillo, CA), Michael Ferguson (Moorpark, CA)
Primary Examiner: Kent Bell
Attorney: Jones Day
Application Number: 11/244,121