Patent Application
20080256672
Fragaria ananassa
‘TAMIR’
The present invention relates to a new and distinct strawberry variety named ‘TAMIR’. The variety is botanically known as Fragaria ananassa Duch.
The new strawberry ‘TAMIR’ is a product of a planned breeding program conducted by the inventors, Nir DAI, Zecharia TANAMI and Sara SLOTZKY in Bet-Dagan, Israel. The objective of the breeding program is to develop a new infra short-day strawberry variety having premium fruit quality (appearance, firmness and flavor), which produces high marketable yields from the beginning of November.
This new strawberry ‘TAMIR’ is a result of a controlled cross made by the inventors in 2000, in Bet-Dagan, Israel. The female or seed parent is strawberry variety designated ‘HADAS’, registered for PBR in Israel (No. 1860, Date: Jan. 20, 1999) and in Europe (No. EU 6445, Date: Jul. 3, 2000). The male or pollen parent is strawberry variety designated ‘HERUT’, registered for PBR in Israel (No. 2243, Date: May 2, 2002) and in Europe (No. EU 21583, Date: Dec. 17, 2007). The new strawberry ‘TAMIR’ was discovered and selected by the inventors as a single flowering plant within the progeny of the stated cross in March of 2001, in controlled environment of an experimental greenhouse in Bet-Dagan, Israel. After its selection, the new variety was asexually propagated by stolons in a nursery located in Bet-Dagan, Israel. The new variety was extensively tested over the following years in few small commercial fields in Moshav Tsofit, Kadima and Qalansawa, Israel. This propagation has demonstrated that the combination of characteristics as herein disclosed for the new cultivar are firmly fixed and retained through successive generations of asexual reproduction. The new cultivar reproduces true to type.
‘TAMIR’ is primarily adapted to the climate and growing conditions of the Sharon coastal plain, at 32° latitude, located in Israel and to similar climatic regions. This region provides the needed growing conditions of autumn with high temperatures that promote primary plant growth and earliness of fruit production; and mild winter with moderate temperatures and many sunny days with low humidity, maintaining plant vigorous and fruit quality during the production months.
The following traits have been repeatedly observed and are determined to be unique characteristics of ‘TAMIR’, which in combination distinguish this strawberry plant as a new and distinct variety:
1. Low amounts of runners (stolons) production in the propagating nursery;
2. No chilling requirement for flower induction;
3. Very early fruit production from the first week of November in Israel;
4. Moderate plant size with open, flattened habit;
5. Fruiting trusses position level with foliage;
6. Large fruit size, orange-red in color;
7. High fruit firmness even in high temperatures;
8. Juicy fruit texture with strong flavor;
9. Very nice appearance with yellowish achenes over bright red fruit skin; and
10. High field tolerance to powdery mildew.
Plants of the new strawberry variety ‘TAMIR’ differ from plants of the parents, ‘HADAS’, registered for PBR in Israel (No. 1860, Date: Jan. 20, 1999) and in Europe (No. EU 6445, Date: Jul. 3, 2000), and ‘HERUT’, registered for PBR in Israel (No. 2243, Date: May 2, 2002) and in Europe (No. EU 21583, Date: Dec. 17, 2007) in the characteristics described in Table 1.
Of the many commercial cultivars known to the present inventor, the most similar in comparison to the new strawberry variety ‘TAMIR’ is the male or pollen parental cultivar, strawberry variety ‘HERUT’ (registered for PBR in Israel and Europe). Plants of the new strawberry variety ‘TAMIR’ differ from plants of strawberry variety ‘HERUT’ in the characteristics described in Table 2.
For its identification, a series of molecular markers have been developed for this new variety. The genetic polymorphic pattern of two Cleavage Amplified Polymorphic Sequence (CAPS) markers (A. APX-MluI and B. CTI-Hinfl (Kunihisa et al., 2003)) that differ between the new strawberry cultivar ‘TAMIR’ and the main commercial Israeli strawberry cultivars, as well as, other widely known strawberry cultivars is shown in
The accompanying color photographs illustrate the overall appearance of typical specimens of the new strawberry variety ‘TAMIR’, at various stages of development as true as it is reasonably possible with color reproductions of this type. Color in the photographs may differ slightly from the color value cited in the botanical description which accurately describes the color of ‘TAMIR’. The depicted plant and plant parts of the new strawberry variety ‘TAMIR’ were taken in Moshav Tsofit, Israel, and are approximately 5 month old.
‘TAMIR’ has not been observed under all possible environmental conditions. The characteristics of the new variety may vary in detail, depending upon variations in environmental factors, including weather (temperature, humidity and light intensity), day length, soil type and location.
The aforementioned photographs, together with the following observations, measurements and values describe the new strawberry variety ‘TAMIR’, unless otherwise noted, taken during the winter of the growing season 2007-2008 in Moshav Geolim and Bet-Dagan, Israel. The observations, measurements and values were taken from plants of ‘TAMIR’ dug from a low-elevation nursery located in Moshav Geolim and Bet-Dagan, Israel, during September, 2007 and planted directly, without any chilling, in the same day in the commercial field in Moshav Geolim and experimental greenhouse Bet-Dagan, Israel. Plants of the new strawberry variety ‘TAMIR’ were grown under conditions which closely approximate those generally used in commercial practice. Growing conditions at the nursery:
Mother plants provided from an authorized nursery are planted in the beginning of May, in the field nursery at 2.5 m×2.5 m distance. Combination of overhead and drip irrigation with addition of fertilizers is used. The average day/night temperatures during the establishment of the daughter plants, between June to August, are 32° C./18° C. respectively. Runners appear from June, which produce young daughter plants up till mid September, these are then collected and planted directly in the commercial fields. Growing conditions at the fruit production field:
The bare rooted plants are washed from soil and dipped in Octav (Prochloraz manganese) 2 g/Liter solution to avoid anthracnose. These bare rooted plants are then planted in raised beds with overhead irrigation in 4 rows at 30 cm apart. Distance between plants within rows is 32 cm. During the first month, no fertilizers are added, due to the addition of 60-100 m3/hectar compost during field preparation. About 4 weeks after planting the beds are covered with silvery-black, 30 micron polyethylene. The young plants are pulled out through the pre-prepared holes. From this point on, the plants are irrigated with a drip system with a supply of additional fertilizers, as is typically used in agricultural practice. By the end of October the beds are covered with transparent, 80 micron thick polyethylene tunnels. The average day (max) and night (minimum) temperatures during the cultivation season are shown in
During winter in Israel, most days have full sunlight and only average of 82 rainy days from August to June, producing about 620 mm precipitation. The commercial fields are not treated with growth regulators and regularly are irrigated and fertilized according to need during fruit production.
Yield observations and fruit quality characteristics are averaged from 2 years of data collected from the 2006 to 2007 and 2007 to 20088 growing seasons. Flower measurements and characteristics are from secondary flowers unless otherwise noted. Fruit characteristics and measurements are from secondary fruit unless otherwise noted.
Color references are made to The Royal Horticultural Society Color Chart (RHS), except where general colors of ordinary significance are used. Color values were taken under daylight conditions between 10:00 a.m. to noon in Bet-Dagan, Israel. The approximate age of the observed plants is 4 to 6 months.
The following Tables 3 to 9 describe fruit, plant, stolon, foliage, fruiting truss, flower and pest/disease characteristics of the new strawberry ‘TAMIR’.
| Number | Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 4029/07 | Apr 2007 | IL | national |
