STUDY OF NEW STRAWBERRY SELECTIONS FROM THE ROMANIAN STRAWBERRY BREEDING PROGRAMME

Since 1995, the genetic improvement of strawberry (Fragaria x ananassa Duch.), in Romania, was developed mainly at RIFG Pitesti, within The Small Fruits Laboratory, which accumulated an experience in the field of more than 35 years (the first hybrids were obtained in 1978).As in the past, the classic selection scheme was followed.The choice of the parents was based on the productivity, quality and diseases tolerance of some Romanian and foreign varieties studied over a long period of time.The hybridizations were done in the field in individual bags and the selection of the obtained hybrids was carried out according to the known phases: the vegetative propagation of the selected plants, the organization of contest trial (linear) and contest microcultures (randomized) with number of plants and replicates specific to strawberry culture.The evaluated hybrids with a high percentage of selected plants in the hybrid fields were: `Queen Elisa x Mira`, `Queen Elisa x Marmolada x (Addie x Dana)`, `Queen Elisa x Real`, `Mira x Real` and `Mira x Queen Elisa`.The paper presents the behavior of eight strawberry selections and three parental varieties in field conditions during 2015-2017.The characteristics studied are: plant yield (g/plant), average fruit weight (g), firmness (N), shape, color, chemical content and tolerance to diseases.As a result of the researches carried out on `08-19-9` (`Queen Elisa x Real`), it was registered at ISTIS Bucharest in 2016 for promotion as a new variety in 2019.