'Florida Radiance' strawberry.

There is a need for a strawberry (Fragaria ·ananassa Duch.) cultivar to complement ‘Strawberry Festival’ (Chandler et al., 2000) yields, currently the primary cultivar in Florida and an important cultivar in other winter and early spring production areas around the world. ‘Strawberry Festival’ has become a grower favorite because it is a sturdy upright plant that is easy to harvest with relatively well-distributed yield throughout the season and produces very few nonmarketable fruit. It has become a supermarket favorite because its fruit are attractive, fit well in 450-g clamshell containers, and have a long shelf life. However, early in the season (late November and early December in west central Florida), ‘Strawberry Festival’ produces relatively low yields, and during the second half of the main production period (starting in late February in west central Florida), it tends to produce fruit of marginal size. ‘Florida Radiance’ strawberry has produced high early-season yields and has maintained good fruit size throughout the main production period in plots at the former University of Florida research center at Dover and on several commercial farms in west central Florida and southwest Spain. It is recommended for trial in areas with mild winter climates. This strawberry genotype is named ‘Florida Radiance’ because of the attractive luster of its fruit.