What is the primary concern in the strawberry industry with respect to new varieties?
The concerns are similar in both the strawberry and raspberry industries – resistance to disease and insects. The primary concern for strawberry varieties is resistance to viruses and soil borne diseases. What is the primary concern for berry producers when selecting what varieties to plant? Productivity is the primary concern for variety selection. The variety must provide the highest possible return with the least amount of inputs. The variety must have disease resistance, as pesticide and fungicide use has been reduced over the last few years. Varieties that do not require high chemical inputs result in higher returns. Both raspberry and strawberry producers primarily produce for the processing market. Therefore in the raspberry industry they look for varieties suitable for machine harvesting. In the strawberry industry there has been a shift to the fresh market in the last few years, so producers must also consider qualities that will enhance fresh market sales. Also, the strawberr
