University of California Strawberry Breeding

StrawberryHedrick (1925, p. 355) states in the introduction to the strawberry sections of The Small Fruits of New York "The Strawberry has remarkable powers of adapting itself to climates and soils.In consequence it is found in one species or another in almost every part of the globe.But in general the many species are lovers of cool climates and of dry, loose, warm soils.Under culture strawberries belong distinctly to cold climates.In tropical' and sub-tropical countries, the plants grow but languidly, refuse to bear abundantly, and the fruits are deficient in size, color, flavor, and the delicate fragrance from which the strawberry derives its generic name Fragaria.The plants are most luxuriant, and the fruits are most pleasing to eye and palate where greatest hardihood to cold is required.Wild or cultivated, strawberries are little esteemed to warm countries.Accordingly, they are valued most, and came to their present high estate as cultivated plants in the colder parts of the temperate zones, especially in Europe and North America, to whose peoples they owe domestication." Most of the above statements were true at that time because the breeding of strawberries for adaptation to warmer (subtropical) environments that was to be carried out at the Univ. of California was only about to begin (1926) and 'Lassen', the first cultivar truly adapted to southern coastal California, was not to be released until 1945 (H.E.Thomas and E.V. Goldsmith, 1945).While California yields per unit area were the highest in the nation prior to World War II, they were only ≈ 1 to 2 t higher than those of the highest-yielding other states, a relatively insignificant difference (Tables 1 and2).California strawberry production was effectively terminated for the duration of World War II, starting in 1942, and was not resumed until the return of the Japanese-descended farmers after the war ended.Post-World War II yields in California more than tripled prewar yields, and commercial strawberry production has been dominated by California ever since (Tables 3 and4).Excluding California, average yields over all other states did not increase during 1949-54 (Table 3).The principal reason for the large increase in postwar yield was the development and re-