The
garden strawberry (or simply
strawberry //;
Fragaria × ananassa) is a widely grown
hybrid species of the genus
Fragaria (collectively known as the
strawberries).
It is cultivated worldwide for its
fruit. The fruit (which is not a
botanical berry, but an aggregate
accessory fruit)
is widely appreciated for its characteristic aroma, bright red color,
juicy texture, and sweetness.
It is consumed in large quantities, either
fresh or in such prepared foods as
preserves,
fruit juice,
pies,
ice creams,
milkshakes, and
chocolates. Artificial strawberry
aroma is also widely used in many industrial food products.
The garden strawberry was first bred in
Brittany, France, in the 1750s via a cross of
Fragaria virginiana from eastern North America and
Fragaria chiloensis, which was brought from Chile by
Amédée-François Frézier in 1714.
[1]
Cultivars of
Fragaria ×
ananassa have replaced, in commercial production, the woodland strawberry (
Fragaria vesca), which was the first strawberry species cultivated in the early 17th century.
[2]
Technically, the strawberry is an aggregate accessory fruit, meaning
that the fleshy part is derived not from the plant's ovaries but from
the
receptacle that holds the ovaries.
[3]
Each apparent "seed" (
achene) on the outside of the fruit is actually one of the ovaries of the flower, with a seed inside it.
[3]
History
The first garden strawberry was grown in France during the late 18th century.
[2]
Prior to this, wild strawberries and cultivated selections from wild strawberry species were the common source of the fruit.
The strawberry fruit was mentioned in ancient Roman literature in
reference to its medicinal use.
The French began taking the strawberry
from the forest to their gardens for harvest in the 1300s.
Charles V,
France's king from 1364 to 1380, had 1,200 strawberry plants in his
royal garden.
In the early 1400s western European monks were using the
wild strawberry in their illuminated manuscripts. The strawberry is
found in Italian, Flemish, German art, and English miniatures.
[citation needed] The entire strawberry plant was used to treat depressive illnesses.
By the 1500s references of cultivation of the strawberry became more
common.
People began using it for its supposed medicinal properties and
botanists began naming the different species.
In England the demand for
regular strawberry farming had increased by the mid-1500s.
Instructions
for growing and harvesting strawberries showed up in writing in 1578.
By
the end of the 1500s three European species had been cited;
F. vesca,
F. moschata, and
F. viridis.
The garden strawberry was transplanted from the forests and then the
plants would be propagated asexually by cutting off the runners.
Two subspecies of
F. vesca were identified;
F. sylvestris alba and
F. sylvestris semperflorens. The introduction of
F. virginiana
from Eastern North America to Europe in the 1600s is an important part
of history because this species gave rise to the modern strawberry.
The
new species gradually spread through the continent and did not become
completely appreciated until the end of the 18th century.
Fragaria ×
ananassa 'Gariguette,' a cultivar grown in southern France
When a French
excursion journeyed to Chile in 1712, it introduced the strawberry plant
with female flowers that resulted in the common strawberry that we have
today.
The Mapuche and Huilliche Indians of Chile cultivated the female
strawberry species until 1551 when the Spanish came to conquer the land.
In 1765, a European explorer recorded the cultivation of
F. chiloensis,
the Chilean strawberry.
At first introduction to Europe, the plants
grew vigorously but produced no fruit.
It was discovered in 1766 that
the female plants could only be pollinated by plants that produced large
fruit;
F. moschata,
F. virginiana, and
F. ananassa.
This is when the Europeans became aware that plants had the ability to
produce male-only or female-only flowers.
As more large-fruit producing
plants were cultivated the Chilean strawberry slowly decreased in
population in Europe, except for around Brest where the Chilean
strawberry thrived.
The decline of the Chilean strawberry was caused by
F. ananassa.
[4]
Cultivation
Strawberry cultivars vary widely in size, color, flavor, shape,
degree of fertility, season of ripening, liability to disease and
constitution of plant.
[5]
Some vary in foliage, and some vary materially in the relative
development of their sexual organs.
In most cases, the flowers appear
hermaphroditic in structure, but function as either male or female.
[6]
For purposes of commercial production, plants are propagated from
runners and, in general, distributed as either bare root plants or plugs.
Cultivation follows one of two general models—annual
plasticulture,
[7] or a perennial system of matted rows or mounds.
[8]
A small amount of strawberries are produced in greenhouses during the off season.
[9]
A field using the plasticulture method
The bulk of modern commercial production uses the plasticulture system.
In this method, raised beds are formed each year,
fumigated,
and covered with plastic to prevent weed growth and erosion.
Plants,
usually obtained from northern nurseries, are planted through holes
punched in this covering, and irrigation tubing is run underneath.
Runners are removed from the plants as they appear, in order to
encourage the plants to put most of their energy into fruit development.
At the end of the harvest season, the plastic is removed and the plants
are plowed into the ground.
[7][10]
Because strawberry plants more than a year or two old begin to decline
in productivity and fruit quality, this system of replacing the plants
each year allows for improved yields and denser plantings.
[7][10]
However, because it requires a longer growing season to allow for
establishment of the plants each year, and because of the increased
costs in terms of forming and covering the mounds and purchasing plants
each year, it is not always practical in all areas.
[10]
The other major method, which uses the same plants from year to year
growing in rows or on mounds, is most common in colder climates.
[7][8]
It has lower investment costs, and lower overall maintenance requirements.
[8] Yields are typically lower than in plasticulture.
[8]
A third method uses a compost sock. Plants grown in compost socks
have been shown to produce significantly higher oxygen radical
absorbance capacity (ORAC),
flavonoids,
anthocyanins,
fructose,
glucose,
sucrose,
malic acid, and
citric acid than fruit produced in the black plastic mulch or matted row systems.
[11]
Similar results in an earlier 2003 study conducted by the US Dept of
Agriculture, at the Agricultural Research Service, in Beltsville
Maryland, confirms how
compost plays a role in the bioactive qualities of two strawberry cultivars.
[12]
Strawberries are often grouped according to their flowering habit.
[5][13]
Traditionally, this has consisted of a division between "June-bearing"
strawberries, which bear their fruit in the early summer and
"ever-bearing" strawberries, which often bear several crops of fruit
throughout the season.
[13]
Research published in 2001 showed that strawberries actually occur in
three basic flowering habits: short-day, long-day, and day-neutral.
These refer to the day-length sensitivity of the plant and the type of
photoperiod that induces flower formation. Day-neutral cultivars produce flowers regardless of the photoperiod.
[14]
Strawberries may also be propagated by seed, though this is primarily
a hobby activity, and is not widely practiced commercially.
A few
seed-propagated cultivars have been developed for home use, and research
into growing from seed commercially is ongoing.
[15]
Seeds (
achenes) are acquired either via commercial seed suppliers, or by collecting and saving them from the fruit.
Strawberries can also be grown indoors in strawberry pots.
Pests
Around 200 species of pests are known to attack strawberries both directly and indirectly.
[22] These pests include
slugs,
moths,
fruit flies, chafers, strawberry root weevils, strawberry thrips, strawberry sap beetles, strawberry crown moth,
mites,
aphids, and others.
[22][23]
The caterpillars of a number of species of
Lepidoptera feed on strawberry plants.
Diseases
Strawberry plants can fall victim to a number of diseases.
[24] The leaves may be infected by
powdery mildew,
leaf spot (caused by the fungus
Sphaerella fragariae),
leaf blight (caused by the fungus
Phomopsis obscurans), and by a variety of
slime molds.
[24] The crown and roots may fall victim to red stele,
verticillium wilt,
black root rot, and
nematodes.
[24] The fruits are subject to damage from
gray mold,
rhizopus rot, and leather rot.
[24] To prevent root-rotting, strawberries should be planted every four to five years in a new bed, at a different site.
[25]
The plants can also develop disease from temperature extremes during winter.
[24]
When watering strawberries, advice has been given to water only the
roots and not the leaves, as moisture on the leaves encourages growth of
fungus.
[26]
Strawberries are popular and rewarding plants to grow in the domestic
environment, be it for consumption or exhibition purposes, almost
anywhere in the world. The best time to plant is in late summer or
spring. Plant in full sun or dappled shade, and in somewhat sandy soil.
The addition of manure and a balanced fertilizer aids strong growth.
Alternatively they can be planted in pots or special planters using
compost.
Domestic cultivation
Picking home-grown garden strawberries
Moreover, protection must be provided against slugs and snails which
attack the ripe fruit. The fruit matures in midsummer and should be
picked when fully ripe — that is, the fruit is a uniform bright red
colour. The selection of different varietes can extend the season in
both directions.
[28] Numerous
cultivars have been selected for consumption and for exhibition purposes. The following cultivars have gained the
Royal Horticultural Society's
Award of Garden Merit:-
Propagation is by
runners, which can be pegged down to encourage them to take root,
[35]
or cut off and placed in a new location. Established plants should be
replaced every three years, or sooner if there are signs of disease.
When propagating strawberries, one should avoid using the same soil
or containers that were previously used for strawberry cultivation.
After cultivating strawberries, rotating to another culture is
advisable, because diseases that attack one species might not attack
another.
[36]
Source: Wikipedia.org
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