New Strawberry Discovered

New Strawberry Discovered

New Strawberry Discovered. I’m Greg Martin with today’s Fruit Grower Report.

Mother Nature still has a few tricks up her sleeve when it comes to surprising us. A new species of strawberry was recently discovered in the high peaks of Oregon's Cascade Mountains. The Ag Networks KayDee Gilkey has more.

GILKEY: The new strawberry has been named Fragaria cascadensis by Agricultural Research Service scientist Kim Hummer. She recently discovered the new plant during a plant collection expedition. The new strawberry is a perennial plant with white flowers and green leaves, and it differs from other strawberry species of the region by having hairs on the upper side of its leaves, comma-shaped, small brown fruits called "achenes" on the strawberry surface, and 10 sets of chromosomes, unlike the eight sets in commercial strawberries. According to Hummer, the new strawberry's biggest impact could come by crossing it with other strawberries having the same number of chromosomes.Those crosses could produce hybrids with disease resistance, improved flavor, or other important traits.

Thanks KayDee. F. cascadensis is now included in the living collections of the Corvallis germplasm repository, which preserves plant genetic resources of temperate fruit, nut, and other crops.

That’s today’s Fruit Grower Report. I’m Greg Martin on the Ag Information Network. 

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