Cultivar and planting date effects on the growth, yield and quality of strawberries in the Western Cape, South Africa

In South Africa, strawberry Fragaria × ananassa (Duchesne ex Weston) Duchesne ex Rozier growers have not been able to extend the growing season and produce strawberries year-round primarily due to the types of cultivar available and climatic limitations. The objective of the study was to determine the effects of planting date- and day-neutral strawberry varieties on plant growth, yield and quality in the south-eastern region of the Western Cape. The experiment was conducted as a split-plot design with three replications. Planting dates were the whole plot treatments, while varieties constituted the sub-plot treatments. The sub-plot treatments were laid out in a randomised complete block design. Three day-neutral strawberry varieties, ‘Monterey’, ‘San Andreas’ and ‘Albion’ were planted at 30-day intervals from April to September for the 2018/2019 season in standard coir grow-bags at a density of 75 000 ha−1. ‘Monterey’ significantly outperformed ‘San Andreas’ which in turn significantly (p < 0.05) outperformed ‘Albion’ for crown number, flower number, yield and fruit size. ‘San Andreas’ produced significantly fewer runners than ‘Monterey’ and ‘Albion’. ‘Albion’ produced significantly higher total soluble solids followed by ‘Monterey’ and ‘San Andreas’. It was concluded that ‘Monterey’ planted in April and ‘San Andreas’ planted in August, can be used to extend the harvest season.