Rain Damage on Three Strawberry Cultivars Grown in Subtropical Queensland

In Queensland, Australia, strawberry (Fragaria × ananassa Duchesne) is grown in open fields and rainfall events can damage fruit. Following a rain event, damage was evaluated on three commercial cultivars. ‘Rubygem’ (80%) had more fruit damaged than ‘Strawberry Festival’ (55%) and ‘Camarosa’ (61%). “Etch,” where the surface of the fruit is eroded and, consequently, the seeds are raised relative to the damaged surface, was the most frequently occurring (>80%) damage type and was distributed on the body and tip of the fruit, while some fruit (<16%) showed cracking. Fully mature fruit was damaged (>80%) more than partially mature fruit, which differed between ‘Strawberry Festival’ (16%) and ‘Rubygem’ (68%). Cultivars that are resistant to rain damage would reduce losses and lower risk for the growers.