Defoliation of Strawberry Transplants for Fruit Production in Florida

Florida-developed strawberry (Fragaria ×ananassa Duch.) clones or varieties grown in Florida nurseries and California-developed varieties grown in Canadian nurseries were evaluated in fruiting studies in Florida during four seasons. Transplants were defoliated so that 0%, 35%, 60%, or 87% of the foliage was removed. The Florida clones `Dover' and selection 79-1126 gave significant linear and/or quadratic early and total marketable yield responses to defoliation treatments for all seasons. The Canadian-grown clones `Chandler' and `Selva' gave similar responses during three seasons, but differences were not as great as for the Florida-grown clones. Many significant linear and quadratic responses in seasonal average fruit weight and plant size occurred for Florida-grown plants, but only one occurred with the Canadian-grown plants. Relative plant size at early and midseason decreased with greater defoliation.