Strawberry breeding in Uruguay.

The strawberry fruit production in Uruguay is mainly dedicated to the internal fresh market but there are some experiences of exportation to regional and off shore countries. The crop is done in the annual hill system without the use of methyl bromide and the mean yield is about 40 t/ha. Main crop areas are located in the Northwest (Salto, 31°S) and in the South (San Jose, 34°S). The winter and early spring fruit production is obtained in the Northwest area with crops under low and high tunnels using short day cultivars like 'INIA Yvahe', 'INIA Araza' and 'Earlibrite'. Transplants are locally produced in this area in greenhouse nurseries. The Southern area produces fruit in the spring with open field crops using short day cultivars like 'Camarosa' and 'Camino Real' and in the summer with day neutral cultivars like 'Aromas' and 'Seascape'. Frigo-transplants of the introduced cultivars are imported from Spain and USA. Problems of adaptation to the climatic and agronomic conditions of Uruguay have been observed in the introduced cultivars. This was translated to low yields, low fruit quality and susceptibility to diseases prevalent in the regions of production. For that reason the Strawberry Breeding Project of INIA Uruguay aims to obtain cultivars adapted to the different environments of the country. The products of this breeding project, initiated in 1992, are the cultivars 'INIA Araza', released in 2002, with high early yield and resistance to anthracnose; 'INIA Yvahe', released in 2004, with early yield and excellent flavor, resistant to anthracnose; 'INIA Guenoa', released in 2007, with high yield, excellent fruit quality, better adapted to high tunnels and resistant to powdery mildew; 'INIA Yvapita', to be released in 2008 for open field crop, recommended for organic production and processing, resistant to several soil, foliage and fruit diseases. New selections are in different stages of evaluation. A method of propagation was adjusted to ensure appropriated quality of the transplants.