FOREWORD

Fifty-three oral presentations and fifty-seven posters were presented at the Symposium in research disciplines including genetics, germplasm exploration and evaluation, physiology, nutrition, cultural methodology, plant pathology, entomology, weed control, mechanical harvesting, and various aspects of biotechnology. Oral papers were presented in the topic sessions: germplasm, genetics, and breeding; variety evaluation, culture, and production; physiology; biotechnology; and diseases, insects, integrated pest management, and weed control.

Pasquale Rosati, Convener of the 1st ISS, summarized the current trends in strawberry production and research. He indicated that production increases and changes in production patterns worldwide have been possible because of research progress in the last decade in the areas of strawberry breeding, new variety production, biotechnology, physiology, and cultural methodologies, thus making strawberries available to the consumer the year-around with only modest price fluctuations. It is fitting that the Strawberry Working Group, at its Business Meeting during the Symposium, decided unanimously to dedicate these Proceedings to two individuals who have contributed so much to strawberry research, and whose impact on strawberry production and research has been considerable.

Following the Symposium, 45 participants attended the Post-Symposium tour to New York and Ontario. We owe a great deal of gratitude to Marvin Pritts and Adam Dale who organized this tour to growers in New York and Ontario, and to strawberry research facilities of Agriculture Canada and the Horticultural Research Institute of Ontario in Vineland and Simcoe.

We also want to acknowledge the excellent help and assistance provided by our staff members during the Symposium and in preparing the field demonstrations for the Beltsville tour: Mr. Mche Axum, Mr. John Enns, Mr. Samuel Garrett, Mrs. Joanne Lutz, and Mrs. Kate Salazar.

Last, but not least, we wish to give our thanks to the members of the Organizing Committee for their enthusiastic help in planning and participating in organizing this Symposium and to the Editorial Committee for giving their time and energy unselfishly in reviewing manuscripts for this Proceedings volume. We owe a special debt of gratitude to Prof. Pasquale Rosati. It is due to his initiative that the Strawberry Working Group was established and his driving interest in international cooperation and exchange of strawberry research brought about the 1st ISS. And he was influential in helping to organize the 2nd ISS. His efforts have taken root and the 3rd ISS will be held in Belgium and The Netherlands in 1996.


DEDICATION

This volume of Acta Horticulture is dedicated to an incomparable pair of strawberry researchers, Royce S. Bringhurst and Victor Voth, who have recently retired from the Department of Pomology at the University of California, Davis.

Victor Voth began his career as a strawberry researcher in 1946 at Davis, California with Richard Baker. After moving to Torrey Pines in 1952, Victor transferred his work to the South Coast Field Station near Irvine, California in 1956.

Royce Bringhurst succeeded Richard Baker as the plant breeder in charge of the University of California strawberry breeding program at Davis in 1953. Since that time Royce has worked jointly with Victor to develop a steady succession of strawberry varieties that have been the most widely grown varieties in the world.

Their first widely-grown variety was Tioga, introduced in 1964. ‘Tioga’ was adapted to many growing conditions and climates and has been an important parent in breeding programs throughout the world. Their next significant variety was Tufts, released in 1972, which became the first variety to excel in a winter-planted forcing system in Southern California. The Aiko variety, released in 1975, provided growers along the Central Coast of California with a long fruiting season under cool coastal conditions. The Douglas variety, introduced in 1979, provided Southern California growers with high yields of large fruit early in the season. The Pajaro variety, also introduced in 1979, dramatically improved the quality of fruit shipped from the Central Coast of California. Likewise, the introduction of ‘Chandler’ in 1983 gave Southern California growers high yields of fruit with improved color and flavor for both fresh and processed markets. Both ‘Pajaro’ and ‘Chandler’ are widely grown in many areas of the world where planting systems developed by Royce and Victor have been adopted. The Selva variety, released in 1983, became the first widely-grown day-neutral variety. This breakthrough variety has allowed continuous shipment of fresh strawberry fruit from April through October along the Central Coast of California. Two recent introductions, ‘Oso Grande’ (a 1987 release) and ‘Seascape’ (a 1990 release), are also becoming significant varieties. ‘Oso Grande’ is widely planted for early forcing in both Southern California and Florida. The day-neutral ‘Seascape’ is rapidly increasing in acreage along the Central Coast of California due to its combination of large, attractive fruit early in the spring and continuing crops in summer and fall.

Royce and Victor's contributions to the strawberry go far beyond variety development. They have worked very closely with the strawberry industry throughout the world to develop cultural systems that optimize the production and quality of their varieties. They recognized early in their careers the importance of nursery locations, digging dates and planting dates on the performance of their varieties, and have worked closely with the California strawberry nursery industry to improve the quality of planting stock. Victor has worked tirelessly to perfect a winter-planted system of raised beds, plastic mulch and drip irrigation that is now copied throughout the world. Royce was an early proponent of germplasm conservation and utilization of wild Fragaria species. His vision and persistence resulted in the development of day-neutral strawberry varieties from Fragaria virginiana subsp. glauca. The day-neutral strawberry, in turn, has impacted the strawberry industry worldwide, creating opportunities in many areas for strawberry production outside of the traditional short spring crop cycle.

Strawberry researchers and industry representatives everywhere are indebted to the efforts of Royce Bringhurst and Victor Voth, and we gratefully acknowledge those efforts with this dedication.


T. Sjulin
J. Maas
G. Galletta