INTRODUCTION OF GARDEN STRAWBERRY CULTIVARS IN WEST SIBERIAN FOREST STEPPE

Abstract

A varietal study of garden strawberry was carried out in Novosibirsk Region during the period of 2014-2016. Ten cultivars originated from Siberia and other regions were taken as the object of the study: Festivalnaya (control), Vima Kimberly, Nancy, Florace, Isaura, Darselect, Daroyal, Truffle, Solnechnaya Polyana, and Ostara. Productivity, winter hardiness and disease resistance of the cultivars were evaluated. Cultivars, most suitable for growing in the conditions of West Siberian forest steppe, were determined. The cultivars Ostara and Florace had the highest productivity of 18.31 and 8.44 tons per ha, respectively, which proved to be much higher than that of the control cultivar Festivalnaya with its 6.44 tons per ha. According to the observations of 2015, the cultivars with degrees of lesion of 0.5 points and lower should be considered as relatively resistant to strawberry leaf spot, these are Ostara (0.2), Solnechnaya Polyana (0.0), and Truffle (0.5). In 2016, the cultivars above had the lowest degrees of leaf spot lesions 0.7, 0.6 and 1.3, respectively. However, the number of plants affected with gray mold was very high in these three cultivars, especially in Truffle. The observations of 2015-2016 demonstrated high winter hardiness of the recognized cultivars Festivalnaya and Solnechnaya Polyana and unrecognized cultivars Ostara and Truffle (frost damage from 0 to 1 point). Low winter hardiness was shown by Vima Kimberly, Nancy, Isaura, Darselect, Daroyal, and Florace (frost damage from 3 points or higher).