Red, ripe strawberries are the hallmark of spring in California. Two new varieties from the Public Strawberry Breeding Program at the University of California, Davis, will provide consumers with big, flavorful strawberries throughout fall and winter, too.
“These cultivars were developed to provide high-quality fruit from late summer through the holidays,” said Professor Steve Knapp, director of the UC Davis Strawberry Breeding Program.
The new varieties — UCD Finn and UCD Mojo — are “extreme day neutral,” which means they were bred for summer planting, especially in coastal climates from Santa Maria south. They were developed to replace Portola, the only other UC variety that is planted in the summer and harvested in the fall and winter. Portola is popular with farmers for its high yield, but some consumers say the variety lacks flavor.
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