It may be produced only in limited acreage this year, but the Florida Pearl strawberry is already a hot commodity. One of University of Florida (UF)/IFAS strawberry breeder Vance Whitaker’s newest releases is attracting attention from farmers due to its unique whiteish color and pineapple aroma.
UF photo shows white strawberries picked.
“There’s been a lot of media coverage of it. We’ve gotten a lot of calls from people wanting to figure out where they can get them. I would just say the sense from the response is that people are responding well to them,” Whitaker said. “The fact that growers are committing to grow and substantially increase their acreage next year tells me wherever they’re test-marketing them, they’re getting interest. They’re not interested in growing anything they don’t think they can sell.”
Also Known as Pineberry
Whitaker said the white strawberry is also known as the pineberry, since there is a hint of pineapple aroma sometimes when you bite into it. Pineberry is a name that’s been used for some white-fruited strawberries that have existed in small amounts over the years.
The white strawberry’s origin at UF dates to 2012 when strawberry seeds from Japan were sown at the University of Florida. A few small plants recovered. The plants’ pollen was crossed with a Florida variety, and the fruit’s seedlings ranged from white to pink to red.
Leveraging the Market
Whitaker said farmers are looking for a tool to leverage the market, something the other production regions don’t already have. The white strawberry qualifies.
“The 12 acres isn’t a lot, but early returns on the variety have been good. Grower commitments for next season are going way up as far as what they’re wanting to grow and market in the next year. I think it’s been really positive,” Whitaker said.
Strawberries in north Alabama are progressing despite sporadic temperatures and high wind speeds.
File photo shows strawberries picked in a field in a prior season.
“Our cold weather hasn’t been like a constant. It’s been more of a, we’ll have three or four days, maybe seven or eight days of colder weather, and then we’re back up in the 50s and 60s,” said Eric Schavey, Alabama Regional Extension agent in Northeast Alabama. He admits the plants are almost confused when growing through the different spikes or drops in temperature.
“It’s like, I want to work but no I don’t need to. I feel like a plant burns a lot of energy when that happens. We’ve had wet weather. We’ve had wind. We’ve had a lot of days here in the past month or so where the wind has blown 12, 15 miles per hour. You’re just keeping frost cloth on and trying not to damage plants. It doesn’t help the situation.”
Moving Forward
The biggest challenge producers face moving forward is the uncertainty of what February will hold. According to weather.com, temperatures in Gadsden, Alabama are expected to climb as high as 63 degrees on Tuesday before dropping steadily over the next several days to highs that are only in the low to mid 30s next weekend.
“For the most part, strawberries are on track to be good this year; depends on what February brings. You never know about February here in north Alabama,” Schavey said. “February has always been one of the coldest months. It seems like in my lifetime growing up here in north Alabama, February has always been one of the coldest months.”
File photo shows strawberries packaged in the field.
Cooler temperatures this winter have slowed the growth of Florida’s strawberry crop. But the quality of the berries the state has produced since Thanksgiving remains top-notch.
“With all of this nice cool weather, we’ve had fantastic quality. The flavor has been really good. The size of the fruit has been really good. The firmness of the fruit has been really good. The fruit that we’ve produced has been great quality,” said Vance Whitaker, strawberry breeder at the University of Florida Gulf Coast Research and Education Center.
Whitaker said the combination of the hot November temperatures and subsequent cooler temperatures in December and January have slowed the crop’s emergence and ripening of the fruit as well.
He predicts that volume will increase substantially, however, over the next two weeks leading in Valentine’s Day.
Florida strawberry production has been slower than normal this season. But don’t expect that to too last much longer.
File photo shows strawberries.
“I think that volume’s going to be coming pretty powerfully here whether we’re ready for it or not over the next couple of weeks,” said Vance Whitaker, strawberry breeder at the University of Florida Gulf Coast Research and Education Center.
“We’ve had an explosion of bloom over the last couple of weeks. We’re just sort of at the beginning, I think, of a really large uptick in volume. I think that we’re looking at increasing volume pretty dramatically from where we are right now as we’re heading into Valentine’s Day.”
Slower Production So Far
Florida producers have been harvesting consistently since around Thanksgiving, but the volume has lagged compared to previous years. Whitaker talked to growers in December. They estimated they were somewhere between 20% and 25% behind the production numbers they were at the same time last year.
“We’re not talking like a major, major deficit. But it’s been a little tight. I think berries have been a little bit tight on the U.S. market from wherever they’re coming from, whether it be southern California or Mexico, due to the colder weather,” Whitaker said. “That’s probably been a fairly good thing since I think demand has not been super high with the lockdowns and COVID situation that we’ve been dealing with. It’s probably been a good thing, in the end, not to have any record volume so far.”
Weather Factor
Weather was the main culprit in decreased volume so far.
“We’ve definitely been a little bit shy, up ’til now on volume, a little bit behind. It’s due to two things. One, we had the hottest November on record as far as average temperatures. That kind of slowed down the initiation of the blooms and the crown,” Whitaker said.
“Once we got those flowers initiated a little bit on the late side, then we got this really nice stretch of weather; no major freezes but plenty of cold nights… nice cool weather through December and January. There was fantastic fruit quality, but it’s just slowing down the arrival of that yield.”
Photo submitted by Natalia Peres/University of Florida: Shows the impact of Neopestalotiopsis Fruit Rot on Florida strawberries.
Neopestalotiopsis Fruit Rot has impacted Florida strawberry production the last three seasons. The disease has taken a discouraging development for Florida producers this year, however, says Natalia Peres, Professor of Plant Pathology at the University of Florida/IFAS Gulf Coast Research and Education Center.
“What we’ve seen this season is different than what we’ve seen the past two seasons. We can’t really see that link with the nursery source as much anymore. What we see is that fields that mostly had the disease last season have it again this season, which indicates that, unfortunately, the pathogen survived in our fields between seasons,” Peres said.
Samples Taken
During the 2018-19 crop year, 12 samples of the disease were detected from five farms. They were attributed to the same nursery source in North Carolina. In 2019-20, 48 samples were detected from 20 farms with two nursery sources, though the disease quickly spread to other fields after severe weather.
Photo submitted by Natalia Peres/University of Florida: Shows the impact of Neopestalotiopsis Fruit Rot on Florida strawberries.
There have been over 60 samples from 20 farms detected thus far this growing season, mostly from fields that had the disease the prior year.
“What is really new is the aggressiveness of the disease we’re seeing in Florida. In general, this group of fungi is considered a weak pathogen. It’s more likely to be secondary and attack plants that are under some stress. But that’s definitely not the case of what we’ve seen in Florida,” Peres said.
The disease is spread by water and can explode during prolonged periods of wetness. This is especially evident early in the season when farmers apply irrigation to get the plants established. It was also true this season when Tropical Storm Eta impacted Florida in early November.
Disease Symptoms
Neopestalotiopsis causes leaf spots on strawberry plants. It develops quickly and produces spores on the leaves. It can cause severe leaf spotting and fruit rot under favorable weather conditions.
Unfortunately, it can be hard to detect because of other similar leaf spot diseases that growers must contend with like leaf scorch, leaf blotch and Cercospora leaf spot.
“There are other leaf spots that may be confused with this one. We were getting a lot of samples in the clinic at the time and right now this season. Every leaf spot, growers are worried it could be this one. Usually, our growers are not really concerned about common leaf spots they see in the spring just because they’re much more easily controlled and not as aggressive,” Peres said.
Plant City, FL – International grower and year-round marketer of strawberries, blueberries, blackberries and raspberries, Wish Farms, is adding acreage to its Florida strawberry farm operation.
Founded in 1987, G&D Farms is named as a tribute to the original founders of the company, Gershon and Daniel. Before the land addition, it was already widely considered to be the largest contiguous strawberry farm in the world.
The purchase adds just more than 800 acres of land, around 600 of which will be designated for farming. The remainder is natural wetlands, which will be left undisturbed for biodiversity and environmental sustainability.
Farm manager Chris Parks said, “This expansion is very exciting for our team. Not only is the land directly adjacent to our current farm, but we can immediately start farming organically. The ground hasn’t been utilized for many years, so we can bypass the regulated waiting period. It gives us a lot of flexibility with rotation, ensuring that we are good stewards of the land.”
Wish Farms is farming 55 acres of it this coming season, with a gradual ramp up of usage in each season following.
While the farm is more than 90% of the popular and successful Sweet Sensation variety, the company is always on the hunt for the next best tasting strawberry. Several rows are dedicated to 100 new variety and seedling trials. Nearly seven acres have been planted with the highly anticipated white strawberry. Wish Farms has branded them Pink-A-Boo Pineberries.
“I believe there will be strong demand for Pink-A-Boos in the coming years, and this land will allow us to expand that program without having to reduce our red strawberry acreage,” said owner Gary Wishnatzki.
G&D is also employing some innovative techniques that help reduce its usage of non-organic pesticides. The releasing of predator Persimilis Mites (Phytoseiulus persimilis) started as an organic method to control Two-Spotted Spider Mites (Tetranychus urticae).
Parks added, “The same effective organic method has worked really well for our non-organic crop. This season we started experimenting with drones that scout and release. If it works, it could be a major boost to our farm’s efficiency.”
About Wish Farms:
Feel Good. Eat Berries. Make A Difference.
It isn’t just a catchy phrase, giving back is engrained in the company culture. Through the Wish Farms Family Foundation, a portion of profits are dedicated to their three pillars of giving: Food Insecurity, Youth Education and Community. With a defined mission, they hope to make the world a better place.
Founded in 1922, Wish Farms is a fourth-generation, family operated company. As a year-round supplier of strawberries, blueberries, blackberries and raspberries, it grows both conventional and organic varieties. Nationally recognized for innovation, Wish Farms utilizes patented traceability technology to ensure quality and safety by tying consumer feedback to specific information from each day’s harvest.
It’s harvest season for Florida’s $300 million-per-year strawberry season, so those who grow this fruit need help to control pests such as the tiny (up to 2-millimeters long), destructive chilli thrips.
Farmers often use pesticides to control thrips, but they would like to use minimal chemicals. University of Florida scientists may have found a good reason to use pesticides at lower volumes and less frequently.
Chilli thrips usually arrive in Florida strawberry fields after plants bear new leaves, a couple of weeks after they are planted. Adult thrips come to the strawberry field from nearby crop fields or from vegetation. They feed on new strawberry plants and cause bronzing and darkening of leaves, which stunts the plant’s growth and reduces yield.
When these bugs feed on strawberry plants, they don’t stay in one place.
In a new study, University of Florida research shows chilli thrips tend to stay in one basic area for about two weeks, then move and infect nearby plants. That can be a fortuitous two weeks for growers.
With this finding, farmers can use less pesticides to control the bugs. Farmers who use less pesticides save money on chemicals and help preserve the environment, UF/IFAS scientists say.
“Our findings will reduce the overall input costs of strawberry production and, therefore make Florida strawberry growers competitive in the market with strawberries from Southern California and Mexico,” said Babu Panthi, a former doctoral student in entomology and nematology at the UF/IFAS College of Agricultural and Life Sciences and now a postdoctoral researcher at Oregon State University.
Specifically, the study’s findings mean Florida strawberry growers can reduce the number of insecticide applications by spraying the areas infested with chilli thrips and delay insecticide application by at least a week after they discover the bugs, said Sriyanka Lahiri, a UF/IFAS assistant professor of entomology at the Gulf Coast Research and Education Center (GCREC).
Additionally, the findings should help strawberry growers with their overall approach to mitigate pest damage.
“With very few effective products available for insecticide rotation, this approach will assist with integrated pest management practices to control chilli thrips and create opportunity to include biological control agents more effectively,” Lahiri said.
Panthi cites these reasons to reduce insecticide use:
Excessive reliance on chemical insecticides is not sustainable to control thrips.
Strawberry growers must determine whether limited applications of highly effective insecticide products per season should be used against chilli thrips early in the season or reserved for flower thrips later.
Because chilli thrips confine their damage to Florida strawberries, these findings impact only the state’s growers. But because it’s an invasive species that’s rapidly expanding its geographic range, strawberry growers in other U.S. states can learn and prepare to manage this pest in the future, Lahiri said.
Panthi did his doctoral studies under the supervision of Lahiri, Justin Renkema, a former UF/IFAS assistant professor of entomology at GCREC and Oscar Liburd, an entomology Professor at UF/IFAS in Gainesville. His research wasn’t limited to a pesticide finding. Panthi looked at managing chilli thrips from a wider perspective.
“I established a threshold for chilli thrips and developed a sampling plan to make control decisions,” Panthi said. “Such a plan allows growers to make accurate control decisions with fewer samples compared to whole field scouting and avoid making unnecessary insecticide applications. This is more important for Florida strawberry growers since the early-season chilli thrips population is not widespread in the field and still low to cause any significant damage.”
Producing a white strawberry was the first challenge for University of Florida/IFAS strawberry breeder Vance Whitaker. The next is figuring out how to market it so it could be a viable option for Florida producers in the future.
Whitaker said there are 12 acres test marketed in different chain stores this year. They will have a better grasp on how the fruit’s outlook after this season.
“There’s some interest certainly in the industry in trying to make it the fifth berry in the berry category. It has a unique look. It has a unique flavor. It doesn’t taste like a typical strawberry,” Whitaker said. “The key is just trying to get somebody to try it. They first look at it and say, ‘What is that?’ If they try it, they generally like it. I think it’s a product that the growers here are just going to have to figure out how do you introduce this. It’s just a very different type of situation.”
Future in Food Service
The fruit could potentially have a future, especially in the food service industry, particularly with high-end restaurants.
“Growers tell me that the chefs that they’ve sent them to so far really like them. It’s definitely a unique element to use in food as far as just a visual decorating kind of standpoint as well as the different kinds of uses,” Whitaker added. “I think that’s going to be another important aspect with the leading edge being kind of the foodie crowd that looks for new things and maximize the advantages of things that are unusual.”
White Strawberry’s Origin
The idea of the white strawberry gained most notoriety in Japan where it was very popular. But those varieties were not conducive to Florida agriculture. According to Whitaker, in 2012, strawberry seeds from Japan were sown at the University of Florida, and a few small plants recovered. The plants’ pollen were crossed with a Florida variety. The seedlings from this fruit ranged from white to pink to red.
“It has a sweet taste, similar to a strawberry but the aroma is different. The flavor is different,” Whitaker said. “It’s a little bit hard to describe but there is a little bit of pineapple aroma sometimes when you bite into it. For that reason, people are calling it a pineberry. Pineberry is a name that’s been used for some white-fruited strawberries that have existed in small amounts over the years.”
Cold temperatures this week in Florida were just what the doctor ordered for the state’s strawberry crop – especially since temperatures were not well below freezing.
Vance Whitaker, strawberry breeder at the University of Florida Gulf Coast Research and Education Center, said the cold weather Floridians experienced this week should aid in the development of the strawberry plants.
“If it gets nice and cold for a few nights, but without freezing, that’s great. It sweetens them up and firms them up. We’ve had pretty warm weather up to now. This is definitely a nice change,” Whitaker said.
“Definitely for the quality, it’s really good if it gets nice and cold. We don’t have to run water. Ultimately, that’s great for the quality of the berries, the flavor of the berries, the firmness and the shelf life and all that good stuff. It was a warm November. I’d say it was especially helpful in a year like this.”
This Year’s Crop
UF photo shows Vance Whitaker.
An estimated 10,000 acres of strawberries were planted this year. Florida is the country’s second largest producer of strawberries behind California. Whitaker likes how the strawberry plants are faring so far, though this year’s crop is still in its early stages.
“Everything’s looking very good in general. The transplant quality coming in was good. I’ve seen a lot of pretty fields, good stands of plants. I would say it’s been a great start,” Whitaker said.
Neopestalotiopsis Disease
There is somewhat concern about Neopestalotiopsis disease which has also been confirmed in Georgia strawberries. It is a disease Florida producers are familiar with.
“There is some (disease) around. Thankfully, it hasn’t been a super wet season so far, outside of that tropical storm (Eta). When that came through, those wet days got a little bit of that disease started,” Whitaker said.
“It’s definitely something the growers are worried about. But it’s not something that’s like an epidemic yet. They’re also much more familiar with what it is being such a new thing it is, than they were the last couple of years. I think they’ve got a lot more perspective on how to handle it than they did before as well.”
BALM, Fla. — A white strawberry? Not red? Yes, you “read” that right. And it smells a little like a pineapple. It’s also novel in that it’s the first white strawberry to go to market in the United States.
Just in time for the west-central Florida strawberry harvesting season, which runs from now until the end of March, UF/IFAS is releasing not one, but two new varieties – and the white strawberry is one of them. The other: another cultivar that UF/IFAS’ primary breeder says tastes oh-so-good.
Neither variety has a name yet. They’re known by numbers, which is typical early in the cultivar-release process. So far, they’re known as ‘FL 16.78-109’ (the white strawberry) and ‘FL 16.30-128’ (the red strawberry), said Vance Whitaker, a UF/IFAS associate professor of horticultural sciences and a strawberry breeder.
“Because the white strawberry is being test-marketed this year, there has been a lot of interest in it,” said Whitaker, a faculty member at the Gulf Coast Research and Education Center. In fact, a grower told Whitaker that some chefs like the new fruit.
When it’s ripe and ready to eat, it is white inside and out, with a slight pink blush on the skin and red seeds, he said.
“The flavor is very different from a typical strawberry, sweet but with a pineapple-like aroma,” Whitaker said. “White strawberries have been popular for some time in Japan, but this is expected to be the first white strawberry on the market in the United States.”
You can find white strawberries in nature, he said. Breeders have harnessed this naturally occurring trait, crossing white strawberries from the wild with modern strawberries to create something different in both appearance and taste.
Here’s how the white strawberry came about.
In 2012 strawberry seeds from Japan were sown at the University of Florida, and a few small plants recovered. The pollen from these plants were crossed with a Florida variety. The seedlings from this cross-produced fruit that ranged from white to pink to red, Whitaker said.
“Commercial trials have been promising so far,” he said. “Pickers can tell when the fruit is ripe when a slight pink blush develops on the side of the fruit that is most exposed to the sun, and when most of the seeds turn red. By 2022, these new white strawberries should be available in U.S. grocery stores. They will probably be marketed as “pineberries” because of the pineapple aroma.”
Whitaker also touts the consistently even red color and conical shape of the new red variety, making the fruit more attractive.
Here’s how the colors differ in the two strawberries: The red from a typical strawberry comes from pigments called anthocyanins. White strawberries produce much lower amounts of these compounds in their flesh than red strawberries, Whitaker said.
As harvest arrives, farmers will welcome the new red and white strawberries from UF/IFAS, Whitaker said. UF/IFAS researchers and the Florida Strawberry Growers Association estimate strawberries generate about $300 million annually for those who farm them.
Out of the 10,000 acres of strawberries in west-central Florida, the new red strawberry may occupy as much as 300 acres in Florida during the 2021-2022 season, and if it continues to perform well, that number could grow.
The white strawberry, or “pineberry,” will be grown on fewer acres since it is a new specialty product. It will take time for farmers to become comfortable growing it, and it will also take time to educate consumers about this new fruit.
“The new red strawberry is notable for its outstanding flavor,” Whitaker said. “Because of its high sugar level, it tastes somewhat similar to (another UF/IFAS variety called) Sensation®, which is currently one of the leading varieties in Florida, yet with a more intense flavor due to the fruit’s higher acid content.”
