Patent Grant
PP30564
Latin name of the genus and species of the plant claimed: Fragaria X ananassa Duchesne.
Variety denomination: ‘Florida Brilliance’.
The present invention relates to a new and distinct variety of strawberry plant (Fragaria X ananassa Duchesne) named ‘Florida Brilliance’. This new strawberry plant is distinguished at least by its ability to produce high early and total yields of fruit that are consistently shaped, have exceptional firmness, and have good flavor when grown in West Central Florida. Asexual propagation of ‘Florida Brilliance’ was performed at Balm, Fla., which is also where the selection was made and the plants were tested. ‘Florida Brilliance’ can be contrasted with ‘Florida Radiance’ (U.S. Plant Pat. No. 20,363) and ‘Florida127’ (U.S. Plant Pat. No. 25,574), which are the current, dominant strawberry varieties in Hillsborough County, Fla. ‘Florida Brilliance’ is a promising candidate for commercial success because it produces higher yields in November and December when market prices are high and because it produces firm, evenly colored, and consistently shaped fruit throughout the entire Florida market window.
‘Florida Brilliance’, when grown in a subtropical climate during the fall, winter, or a combination thereof, can be distinguished from all other strawberry plants by at least the following characteristics: high early and total fruit yield; exceptionally firm fruit; consistently well-shaped fruit; bright medium-red fruit; and fruit with a balanced flavor.
‘Florida Brilliance’ originated in a strawberry breeding plot in Balm, Fla. The seed parent was ‘FL 11.31-14’, an unreleased, unpatented breeding selection with excellent fruit size and disease resistance. The pollen parent was ‘FL 10-153’, an unreleased, unpatented breeding selection with high early yields, excellent fruit shape, and compact plant. The seeds resulting from the controlled hybridization were germinated in a greenhouse, and the resulting seedlings were planted and allowed to produce daughter plants by asexual propagation (i.e. by runners). Two daughter plants from each seedling were transplanted to raised beds, where they fruited. ‘Florida Brilliance’ was selection number 134 of the 26th cross in the 2013-2014 seedling trial, and thus was given the breeding trial designation of ‘FL 13.26-134’. ‘Florida Brilliance’ exhibited high early and total yields of consistently shaped fruit. ‘Florida Brilliance’ has been asexually propagated annually by runners; and test plantings have established that the vegetative and fruit characteristics of the propagules are identical to those of the initial daughter plants.
‘Florida Brilliance’ can be distinguished from its seed parent ‘FL 11.31-14’ at least by its more consistent fruit shape, better fruit flavor, greater early yields, and more compact plant habit. ‘Florida Brilliance’ can also be distinguished from its pollen parent ‘FL 10-153’ at least by its larger fruit size, more upright plant architecture, and greater disease resistance.
Currently, ‘Florida Radiance’ (U.S. Plant Pat. No. 20,363) and ‘Florida127’ (U.S. Plant Pat. No. 25,574) are the two dominant strawberries varieties in Hillsborough County, Fla. The fruit of ‘Florida Brilliance’ are similar in flavor to those of ‘Florida Radiance’, but ‘Florida Brilliance’ fruit are larger than those of ‘Florida Radiance’ in some seasons (see Table 1) and are firmer than the fruit produced by either ‘Florida Radiance’ or ‘Florida127’, see Table 2. The fruit of ‘Florida Brilliance’ are also more resistant to rain damage than the fruit of ‘Florida127’. Furthermore, ‘Florida Brilliance’ has more consistent conical fruit shape and achieves higher fruit yield in November than either ‘Florida Radiance’ or ‘Florida127’, see Table 1.
‘Florida Brilliance’ is also expected to perform better in nurseries than ‘Florida Radiance’. ‘Florida Brilliance’ runners produce daughter plants that are sturdier and more compact than those produced by ‘Florida Radiance’ runners. Also, ‘Florida Brilliance’ is resistant to powdery mildew (caused by Podosphaera aphanis), like ‘Florida Radiance’, but is also highly resistant to anthracnose fruit rot (caused by Colletotrichum acutatum) and charcoal rot (caused by Macrophomina phaseolina), like ‘Florida127’.
‘Florida Brilliance’ is illustrated by the accompanying photograph that shows 1.5-month-old specimens. The colors shown are as true as can be reasonably captured by conventional photographic procedures. The photograph was captured in December of 2016 in West Central Florida.
The following detailed botanical description sets forth the distinctive characteristics of ‘Florida Brilliance’. The present botanical description is of ‘Florida Brilliance’ when grown under the ecological conditions that prevail during the winter production season in Balm, Fla., i.e., warm days and cool nights. Colors are objectively described using the L*a*b* color scale as measured with a colorimeter.
zMean fruit weight was determined by dividing total marketable fruit yield per plot by total marketable fruit number per plot.
yMeans are based on four replications of 10 plants each in 2014-2015 and on five replications of 10 plants each in the other seasons. Means separation within columns is by Tukey's HSD test, P ≤ 0.05. Different letters within column and within season indicate comparisons that achieved statistical significance.
| Number | Name | Date | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| PP20363 | Chandler | Sep 2009 | P2 |
| PP25574 | Whitaker et al. | May 2015 | P3 |
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 20190124811 P1 | Apr 2019 | US |
