Patent Grant
PP35167
Botanical/commercial classification:
Latin name: Fragaria x ananassa Duchesne.
Varietal denomination: ‘NSG 465’.
This application claims priority to Community Plant Variety Rights Application Number 2021/1459 which was filed in European Union through Community Plant Variety Office on Jun. 7, 2021, of which the content of is hereby expressly incorporated by reference in its entirety for all purposes.
The new and distinct short-day strawberry plant variety of the present invention was the product of a controlled breeding program that was carried out in Policoro (MT) Italy located at 40° 197 N-16° 656 E, wherein two parents were crossed which previously had been studied in the hope that they would contribute the desired characteristics. The female parent (i.e., the seed parent) was the ‘SIRIS’ variety (non-patented in the United States and European Union Community Plant Variety Rights No. 34843), which is a strawberry variety plant with medium late-season yield and produces fruit with very high contents of sugar and exhibits high tolerance to infection by fungus, such as Phytophthora cactorum and Colletotrichum acutatum. The male parent (i.e., pollen parent) was the ‘NSG 120’ variety (U.S. Plant Pat. No. 32,192 P3 and European Union Community Plant Variety Rights No. 57092), which is a strawberry variety that produces a high quality of fruits and sugar during the whole harvest cycle.
The parentage can be summarized as follows:
‘SIRIS’ x ‘NSG120’.
The seeds resulting from the above pollination were sown and small plants were obtained which were physically different from each other. Selective study and testing resulted in the identification of a single short-day strawberry plant of the new variety. It was found that the new strawberry plant of the present invention possesses the following combination of characteristics:
The new variety well meets the needs of the horticultural industry. The new variety possesses characteristics that commonly are sought by commercial strawberry growers. For example, the new variety provides uniform attractive firm medium red, medium-ripening fruit in good yields. The new variety requires an induction period for flowering. This may be achieved by growing in a colder climate away from the equator or at a higher altitude above sea level.
The new variety can be readily distinguished from its ancestors. More specifically, the ‘SIRIS’ variety (i.e., the seed parent) displays generally cordate shape fruit, with orange red internal color and a white core. Instead, the fruit of the new variety, is conical with the internal color and the core of a medium red. The diameter of the calyx of ‘SIRIS’ is much smaller than the diameter of the fruit, while in the new variety the diameter of the calyx is larger than the diameter of the fruit. In addition, the variety ‘NSG 120’ (i.e., the pollen parent) has the insertion of the calyx above the level of the fruit and its diameter is slightly larger than the diameter of the fruit, which has an absent or very small cavity. In the new variety, instead, the insertion of the calyx is on the same level of the fruit and the diameter of the calyx is much larger as compared to the diameter of the fruit, which has a medium cavity. Furthermore, ‘NSG 120’ shows an upright to semi-upright habit with the flowering above the level of the foliage, while in the new variety the habit is semi-upright to spreading with the flowering on the same level of the foliage. The terminal leaflets in ‘NSG 120’ are moderately longer in length than width, possess a crenate margin and an acute base, while the leaflets of the new variety have commonly the same dimension in width and length, possesses a serrate-to-crenate margin, and an obtuse base.
Moreover, the new variety can be readily distinguished from non-parental related similar varieties. For example, the ‘NSG 207’ variety (U.S. Plant Pat. No. 32,161 P3 and European Union Community Plant Variety Rights No. 57091) exhibits an upright habit and the position of the flowering is above the level of the foliage, provides fruit with external red orange color and internal light red, has a calyx with a diameter that is the same dimension as the diameter of the fruit, which has an absent or very small cavity. On the contrary, the new variety has a habit that is semi-upright to spreading, has a position of flowering that is on the same level as the fruit, has fruit that is conical with an external medium red color, has a calyx with a diameter that is much larger than the diameter of the fruit, which has a medium cavity. Compared to the new variety, ‘NSG 207’ has leaves with an acute base while the leaflets of the new variety commonly have leaves with an obtuse base.
The new variety has been found to undergo asexual propagation in Spain and Italy by a number of routes, including by use of stolons and in vitro tissue culture. Specifically, the new variety has been asexually reproduced in a nursery setting by the use of stolons in TORDESILLAS, Spain, located at 41° 494 N-4° 908 E and in Policoro, Italy, by in vitro tissue culture. No rotting problems were observed on the roots during cultivation. The combination of characteristics exhibited by the new variety has been found to be stable and reliably transmitted to succeeding generations following such asexual reproduction. Accordingly, the new variety undergoes asexual propagation in a true-to-type manner by such asexual reproduction.
The accompanying photographs show, as nearly true as it is reasonably possible to make the same in color illustrations of this character, typical specimens of the new variety identified by the code s20.n.17-465 (breeder reference). The illustrated strawberry plants of the new variety were asexually reproduced by stolons in a nursery at TORDESILLAS, Spain, 41° 494 N-4° 908 E, and were planted under the cover of plastic tunnels during mid October 2021 in Policoro (MT) located at 40° 197 N-16° 656 E, Italy.
The chart used in the identification of colors is that of The Royal Horticultural Society (“R.H.S.” Colour Chart), London, England, Edition V. The terminology which precedes reference to the chart has been added to indicate the corresponding color in more common terms. The detailed botanical description is based on plants which were reproduced asexually by the use of stolons in TORDESILLAS, Spain, located at 41° 494 N-4° 908 E, transplanted in Policoro (MT), Italy located at 40° 197 N-16° 656 E in October and grown under the cover of plastic tunnels.
The age of the plants on which the botanical description was made is between two and eight months from the transplants.
Plants of the ‘NSG 465’ variety have not been observed under all possible environmental conditions to date. Accordingly, it is possible that the phenotypic expression may vary somewhat with changes in light intensity and duration, cultural practices, and other environmental conditions.
Hereafter, additional comparative fruit data is provided for the new variety: the ‘NSG 465’ variety, the ‘SIRIS’ variety (i.e., the female parent), the ‘NSG 120’ variety (i.e., the male parent) and the ‘NSG 207’ variety. The plants were asexually reproduced by the use of stolons in 2021 in TORDESILLAS, Spain located at 41° 494 N-4° 908 E, and planted in field on October 18, 2021. All varieties were grown under the cover of plastic tunnels in Policoro (MT), Italy located at 40° 197 N-16° 656 E. The first pick of the fruit occurred on Jan. 22, 2022 and the last pick of the fruit occurred on May 16, 2022. The fruit were evaluated and compared on the dates indicated. Average data are followed:
| Number | Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| PBR 20211459 | Jun 2021 | QZ | regional |
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 20220394901 P1 | Dec 2022 | US |
