Strawberry plant named ‘Palomar’

Abstract

This invention relates to a new and distinctive short-day type cultivar designated as ‘Palomar’. ‘Palomar’ is a short-day (June-bearing) cultivar similar to ‘Camino Real’ (U.S. Plant Pat. No. 13,079), but with higher quality fruit, lower cull rate and lighter colored fruit; it is similar to ‘Ventana’ (U.S. Plant Pat. No. 13,469), but with a more compact plant, superior fruit quality, and firmer, better flavored fruit.

Description

Genus and species: The strawberry cultivar of this invention is botanically identified as Fragaria×ananassa Duch.

Variety denomination: The variety denomination is ‘Palomar’.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

‘Palomar’ originated from a cross performed in 2000 between the cultivars ‘Camino Real’ (U.S. Plant Pat. No. 13,079) and ‘Ventana’ (U.S. Plant Pat. No. 13,469). Because ‘Palomar’ was isolated from pooled seed from a reciprocal cross, it is not known which parent is the maternal parent and which is the paternal parent. ‘Palomar’ was first fruited near Winters, Calif. in 2001, where it was selected, originally designated Cal 0.259-2, and propagated asexually by runners. Following selection and during testing, the plant was designated ‘C221’. Asexual propagules from this original source have been tested in Watsonville, Calif., Irvine, Calif., and to a limited extent in grower fields starting in 2002. The properties of this variety were found to be transmissible by such asexual reproduction. The cultivar is stable and reproduces true to type in successive generations of asexual reproduction.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

This invention relates to a new and distinctive short-day type cultivar designated as ‘Palomar’. ‘Palomar’ is a short-day (June bearing) cultivar similar to ‘Camino Real’ (U.S. Plant Pat. No. 13,079) but with higher quality fruit, lower cull rate and lighter colored fruit; it is similar to ‘Ventana’ (U.S. Plant Pat. No. 13,469) but with a more compact plant, superior fruit quality, and firmer, better flavored fruit.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The figures depict various characteristics of the ‘Palomar’ cultivar.

FIG. 1 shows the general flowering and fruiting characteristics of plants in a field planting.

FIG. 2 shows a typical leaf at mid-season.

FIG. 3 shows representative mid-season fruit.

FIG. 4 shows a cross-section of representative mid-season fruit.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

This invention relates to a new and distinctive short-day type cultivar designated as ‘Palomar’. ‘Palomar’ is typical of short-day strawberry cultivars and produces fruit over an extended period when treated appropriately in arid, subtropical climates. The production pattern for ‘Palomar’ is similar to that for ‘Camarosa’ (U.S. Plant Pat. No. 8,708) and ‘Camino Real’ (U.S. Plant Pat. No. 13,079), although it is somewhat earlier to initiate fruiting with most cultural treatments. ‘Palomar’ initiates fruiting somewhat earlier than ‘Ventana’ (U.S. Plant Pat. No. 13,469) when established in very early fall and somewhat later than ‘Ventana’ when established in mid to late fall. ‘Palomar’ will be of special interest for winter plantings, where ‘Camarosa’, ‘Ventana’ and ‘Camino Real’ have been successful, and in summer plantings where ‘Pajaro’ (U.S. Plant Pat. No. 4,538) and ‘Chandler’ (U.S. Plant Pat. No. 5,262) have been successful.

• Plants and foliage: Fruiting plants of ‘Palomar’ are similar in morphology to ‘Ventana’ although slightly more erect and much smaller throughout most of the production season; ‘Palomar’ plants are slightly larger and less open than those of ‘Camino Real’ in most production environments. Comparative statistics for foliar characters near mid-season are given for ‘Palomar’ and three comparison cultivars in Table 1. Individual leaflets for ‘Palomar’ are smaller and less rounded than for ‘Camarosa’ or ‘Camino Real’, similar in shape to but smaller than for ‘Ventana’. Leaves (including petioles) for ‘Palomar’ are shorter than those for the comparison cultivars, mostly due to shorter petiole length. Petioles for ‘Palomar’ are generally thicker than those of the comparison cultivars relative to their length and tend to have moderate or heavy pubescence. The adaxial (upper) and abaxial (lower) surfaces of leaves for ‘Palomar’ are similar in color to ‘Camarosa’ and lighter than for ‘Camino Real’ leaves at mid season; they tend to remain darker and less yellow than those for ‘Ventana’ late in the harvest season. Leaves of ‘Palomar’ have consistently more concavity than ‘Camarosa’, less concavity than ‘Camino Real’ and are similar to those for ‘Ventana’. Serrations at mid season are more pointed than for ‘Camarosa’, similar in shape and number to ‘Ventana’ and ‘Camino Real’.

TABLE 1
Foliar and plant characteristics for ‘Palomar’, ‘Camarosa’,
‘Camino Real’, and ‘Ventana’.
	Cultivar
Foliar		‘Camino
Character	‘Camarosa’	Real’	‘Ventana’	‘Palomar’
Plant
height (mm)
mean	254	249	271	196
range	203-279	229-279	254-292	152-229
Plant
spread (mm)
mean	427	418	468	391
range	394-493	330-495	343-521	305-432
Mid-tier leaflet
Length (mm)
mean	83.5	79.5	87.2	75.5
range	70-100	70-95	70-110	70-100
Width (mm)
mean	85.5	85	76.1	71.5
range	70-100	70-100	60-85	65-80
Mid-tier leaf
Length (mm)
mean	269	265	281	211
range	217-311	225-313	205-341	150-298
Width (mm)
mean	132	133	156	122
range	115-150	110-145	140-170	90-175
Leaf
components
Petiole
length (mm)
mean	177	180	187	130
range	140-200	150-210	130-230	75-190
Petiole
diameter (mm)
mean	3.8	3.8	3.6	3.6
range	3-5	3-5	3-4	3-4
Petiolule
length (mm)
mean	9.3	6.4	6.9	6.3
range	7-11	5-8	5-9	5-8
# leaflets/leaf	3	3, rarely 4	3	3, rarely 4
		or 5
Leaf convexity	flat-convex,	very concave	flat to very	concave to
	most slightly		concave	very concave
	concave
Serrations
number/leaf	19.1	20.8	20.3	18.9
range	18-20	16-26	17-26	12-22
shape	rounded,	semi-pointed	semi-pointed	semi-pointed
	some semi-
	pointed
Leaf	light-	light-	moderate-	moderate
pubescence	moderate	moderate	light
Petiole
pubescence
density	heavy	moderate-	heavy	moderate-
		heavy		heavy
direction	perpen-	perpendicu-	perpen-	perpen-
	dicular	lar to	dicular	dicular
		acropetal
Petiole color	5 GY 8/8	5 GY 8/8	7.5 GY 8/7	5 GY 8/8
(Munsell)
Stipule
length (mm)
mean	17.6	19.1	19.4	18.7
range	10-24	15-25	15-25	12-23
Stipule color
core	7.5 GY 8/7	2.5 GY 5/5	2.5 GY 6/8	5 GY 8/8
margins	2.5 GY 8/9	2.5 GY 4/3	2.5 GY 6/8	2.5 GY 6/8
Stolon base	3	3	2.4	2.6
diameter (mm)
Stolons per	42.6	33.7	23.7	36.7
nursery
mother plant
Venation
pattern	pinnate	pinnate	pinnate	pinnate
color	5 GY 4/3	7.5 GY 4/3	2.5 GY 4/3	5 GY 4/3

• Disease and pest reaction: ‘Palomar’ is moderately resistant to powdery mildew (Sphaerotheca macularis), Anthracnose crown rot (Colletotrichum acutatum), and Verticillium wilt (Verticillium dahliae); it is moderately susceptible to Phytophthora crown rot (Phytophthora cactorum) and common leaf spot (Ramularia tulasnei) (Table 2). When treated properly, it has tolerance to two-spotted spider mites (Tetranychus urticae) equal to that for the comparison cultivars. ‘Palomar’ is tolerant to strawberry viruses encountered in California.

TABLE 2
Disease resistance scores for ‘Palomar’ and three comparison
cultivars; Phytophthora and Verticillium scores were obtained
in evaluations conducted in 2004-2006, Colletotrichum was evaluated
in 2005-2006.
	Phytophthora	Verticillium	Colletotrichum
	Resistance Score	Resistance Score	Resistance Score
Genotype	(5 = best)	(5 = best)	(5 = best
‘Camarosa’	3.6	2.5	2.6
‘Camino Real	4.4	4.2	3.1
‘Ventana’	2.5	3.0	3.0
‘Palomar’	2.4	3.3	3.2

• Flowering, fruiting, fruit and production characteristics: ‘Palomar’ is similar to other California short-day strawberry cultivars (e.g., ‘Ventana’, ‘Camarosa’, and ‘Camino Real’) in that it will flower over an extended period and into spring or summer, given appropriate local temperature and horticultural conditions. With very early plantation establishment (before October 1 in California) ‘Palomar’ produces fruit earlier than the comparison cultivars but with greater within-season variation than ‘Ventana’. With later plantation establishment ‘Palomar’ initiates fruit later than ‘Ventana’ and is similar in production timing to ‘Camino Real’ and ‘Camarosa’. Comparative statistics for flower and fruit characters near mid-season are given for the four cultivars in Table 3. The primary flowers for ‘Palomar’ are similar in size to the comparison cultivars with a calyx that is distinctly larger than the corolla on primary fruit; the sepals are similar in length and shape to ‘Camarosa’ and ‘Ventana’, but less wide than for ‘Camino Real’. The calyx for ‘Palomar’ varies in position but is usually neither indented nor extended on the neck of the fruit; each primary flower has 5-7 petals. The petals are white on the upper and lower surfaces. The fruit shape for ‘Palomar’ can vary but is typically a short and symmetrical conic. It is easily distinguished by fruit shape from ‘Camarosa’ (shortened and flattened conic) or ‘Ventana’ (long conic); ‘Palomar’ usually has a greater proportion of symmetrical fruit than the comparison cultivars. External and internal fruit color for ‘Palomar’ is lighter than for ‘Camarosa’ and much lighter than for ‘Camino Real’, similar in color to ‘Ventana’ (Table 4). Achenes vary from yellow to dark red, and are even with the fruit surface or slightly indented (Table 6).

TABLE 3
Flower and fruit characters for ‘Palomar’
and three comparison cultivars.
	Cultivar
		‘Camino
Character	‘Camarosa’	Real’	‘Ventana’	‘Palomar’
Petal number
mean	5.5	6.4	6.3	5.8
range	5-7	5-7	5-7	5-7
Petal shape
apex	truncate to	truncate to	truncate to	truncate to
	slightly	slightly	slightly	slightly
	obtuse	obtuse	obtuse	obtuse
base	attenuate	attenuate	attenuate	attenuate
margin	entire	entire	entire	entire
Petal
length (mm)
mean	15.2	17.7	18.5	16.4
range	7-19	15-20	15-20	15-19
Petal
width (mm)
mean	14.1	17.3	18.8	17.4
range	7-16	15-20	16-20	15-20
Flower position	most even	exposed	even to	even to
(relative to	some		exposed	exposed
foliage)	exposed
Calyx
diam.(mm)
mean	57.5	58.5	58	59
range	40-70	50-70	48-70	50-70
Corolla
diam.(mm)
mean	43.1	45.6	55.1	44.3
range	30-52	39-55	43-67	38-53
Sepal
length (mm)
mean	24	24.5	23	25.1
range	13-30	20-35	20-25	20-30
Sepal
width (mm)
mean	12.8	15.3	11.1	12.8
range	5-20	8-20	8-15	10-17
Sepal color	2.5 GY 5/5	5 GY 5/6	5 GY 6/8	5 GY 5/6
(Munsell)
Pedicel
length (mm)
mean	130	85	129	128
range	110-150	70-110	100-150	110-150
Pedicel
diameter (mm)
mean	3.7	3	3.7	3.7
range	3-4.5	2-4	3-5	3-4.5
Pedicel color	5 GY 6/8	2.5 GY 6/8	5 GY 5/6	5 GY 8/8
Fruit shape
Fruit
length (mm)
mean	85	68	72.2	71.7
range	50-130	50-100	60-100	52-91
Fruit
width (mm)
mean	70	62	63.3	64.2
range	50-100	40-90	50-80	52-81
Length/width
ratio	1.2	1.1	1.2	1.1
range	0.7-2.1	0.8-1.4	0.9-1.4	0.9-1.3
subjective	Obovate-flat	Short conic	Medium	Short conic
			conic
Primary/
secondary fruit
comparison
size	40-60%	70-80%	50-60%	50-60%
(subjective)
shape	similar	similar shape	similar shape	similar shape
	shape, more
	conic
Extent/size of	small-absent	absent	small	small-absent
hollow core
Calyx
position	indented-	even-	even-	even-
	neck	indented	reflexed	indented
size relative to	equal or less	equal or	equal or less	equal or
fruit	than fruit	greater than	than fruit	greater than
	diameter	fruit	diameter	fruit
		diameter		diameter
Seed position	indented-	even-	even-	even-
	extruded	indented	extruded	indented
Adherence of	weak	strong	intermediate	weak
Calyx to Fruit

Flower measurements obtained on Mar. 21, 2005, fruit measurements on May 9, 2005.

TABLE 4
Foliar and fruit color characteristics for ‘Palomar’
and three comparison cultivars.
	Cultivar
Color		‘Camino
Character	‘Camarosa’	Real’	‘Ventana’	‘Palomar’
Leaf color
(CIELAB)
Adaxial
L*
mean	34.5	29.7	33.8	32.2
range	31.6-37.9	27.3-31.5	31.4-35.9	30.6-34.9
a*
mean	−11	−8	−11.2	−9.5
range	−9.2-−12.4	−6.3-−9.9	−9.1-−13.7	−8.5-−11.2
b*
mean	16.7	10.2	15.5	12.4
range	12.8-18.5	8.2-12.5	12.4-19.7	10.9-15.0
Munsell	5 GY 4/3	5 GY 4/3	5 GY 5/6	5 GY 4/3
Abaxial
L*
mean	50.8	48	40	49.8
range	48.6-52.7	47.6-49.0	46.8-51.5	47.2-52.3
a*
mean	−9.4	−9.4	−9	−9.3
range	−7.9-−10.6	−8.2-−10.1	−8.0-−9.8	−8.0-−9.8
b*
mean	19.4	16.4	17.7	15.7
range	17.0-22.3	15.0-18.1	15.4-21.3	13.8-16.9
Munsell	5 GY 6/8	5 GY 6/8	7.5 GY 7/9	5 GY 7/10
Fruit color
(CIELAB)
External
L*
mean	39.2	33.7	38.4	39.3
range	37.1-42.4	29.0-39.4	34.4-42.9	36.5-44.8
a*
mean	40.6	36.4	40.5	43.1
range	35.8-43.5	31.4-41.2	33.5-46.5	38.1-47.9
b*
mean	25.6	20.2	25.7	27.4
range	22.1-28.9	13.6-27.5	19.7-29.5	21.7-34.1
Munsell	7.5 R 3/6	5 R 3/7	5 R 3/7	7.5 R 4/11
Internal
L*
mean	60.4	56.6	61.4	59.1
range	53.9-67.8	49.2-61.6	54.7-68.8	46.5-64.1
a*
mean	35.4	36.3	33.1	29.3
range	27.4-43.4	29.7-41.2	23.7-39.5	22.9-36.4
b*
mean	36.3	35.8	34.1	30.9
range	27.4-45.7	30.6-40.9	27.6-40-2	24.3-37.4
Munsell	7.5 R 4/11	7.5 R 5/13	7.5 R 6/12	7.5 R 7/9
Achene color
Munsell	7.5 R 3/6	5 R 3/7	5 R 4/12	5 R 3/7
*CIELAB is the abbreviation of the international color system known as “Commission Internationale de l'Eclairage” 1978. For recommendations concerning uniform color spaces, color difference equations, and psychometric color terms see Supplement No. 2 of CIE Publication No. 15, Paris.

‘Palomar’ has been tested under a variety of cultural regimes, and optimal performance is obtained when nursery treatments and nutritional programs similar to those for ‘Camarosa’, ‘Ventana’, and ‘Camino Real’ are used. In general, ‘Palomar’ is less vigorous than ‘Camarosa’ or ‘Ventana’ with very early season planting is less sensitive to excess chilling than ‘Ventana’. ‘Palomar’ retains excellent fruit quality in summer planting systems.

When treated with appropriate planting regimes, ‘Palomar’ has larger fruit and produces individual-plant yields to similar to that of ‘Camarosa’; it produces less fruit per plant but develops larger and higher quality fruit than ‘Ventana’ (Table 5). ‘Palomar’ has a similar production pattern to ‘Camino Real’ with most cultural treatments, although the production is less peaked and it is substantially more adapted to early-season winter planting. Commercial appearance ratings have been better than those for all of the comparison cultivars, especially ‘Camarosa’; those superior appearance scores translate directly into a larger fraction of marketable fruit than is produced by the comparison cultivars. Fruit for ‘Palomar’ is substantially firmer than fruit from ‘Ventana’, similar in firmness to the other comparison cultivars. Subjectively, ‘Palomar’ has outstanding flavor. The fruit will be exceptional for both fresh market and processing, and will be useful for home garden purposes.

TABLE 5
Performance of ‘Palomar’ and three comparison cultivars evaluated
at the Watsonville Research Facility in 2004-6. All plants for these
trials were harvested from a commercial nursery near Macdoel, CA on
October 15-16, and transplanted after 6-15 days supplemental storage.
Fruit harvest was initiated in early April and continued through the
last week of August. (52″ 2-row beds, 17,300 plants/acre).
		Appearance	Fruit
	Yield	Score	Size
Item	(g/plant)	(5 = best)	(g/fruit)	Firmness*
‘Camarosa’	2,086	3.1	26.1	9.9
‘Camino Real’	2,086	3.5	31.3	9.8
‘Ventana’	2,331	3.4	30.6	8.8
‘Palomar’	2,031	3.7	30.2	10.2
*Fruit firmness ratings are the amount of force in tenths of pounds required to drive a 3 mm flat probe 1 cm into a ripe fruit. This is measured with a Hunter Force Guage.

TABLE 6
Achenes number per fruit and size for ‘Palomar’
and three comparison cultivars.
					Achene
Cultivar	Sample	Weight (g)	Seed Count	Seed/g	Size (mm)
‘Camarosa’	1	45	427	9.49
	2	47	577	12.28
	3	47	502	10.68
	Average	46.33	502.00	10.82	1.3 × 1.7
‘Ventana’	1	44	441	10.02
	2	41	471	11.49
	3	54	491	9.09
	Average	46.33	467.67	10.20	1.2 × 1.6
‘Camino’	1	42	371	8.83
	2	45	470	10.44
	3	38	447	11.76
	Average	41.67	429.33	10.35	1.3 × 1.75
‘Palomar’	1	38	463	12.18
	2	36	458	12.72
	3	29	450	15.52
	Average	34.33	457.00	13.47	1.2 × 1.4
* The seed count is the number of seed per fruit. The seed/g is the number of seeds per gram of fresh fruit weight because the fruit size differs. The averages may vary depending on culture conditions and regimen.

Claims

1. A new and distinct cultivar of strawberry plant having the characteristics substantially as described and illustrated herein.