New Strawberry Cultivar ‘Koiminori’ with Large Fruit Size and Labor-saving Potential

Abstract

‘Koiminori’ is a new June-bearing strawberry (Fragaria × ananassa Duch.) cultivar that originated from a cross between 03042-08 and ‘Kumaken-i-548’ in 2008. This cultivar exhibits upright and vigorous growth. Although the first flowering date is the same as that of ‘Sachinoka’, the harvest date is earlier owing to the fewer days required for fruit maturation under forcing cultivation. The morphology of the inflorescence is closely related to the uniformity of the fruit size in strawberries. The inflorescence shape of ‘Koiminori’ is intermediate between the distal-branching and basal-branched types, and the fruits are large and uniform. The short cone-shaped fruit has orange-red skin and white flesh, and Brix and acidity are similar to those of ‘Sagahonoka’. Fruit firmness is greater than that in ‘Sagahonoka’, and it can be adapted to mechanical operations using an automatic fruit-sorting and packaging robot. ‘Koiminori’ is a high-yielding cultivar, and requires less labor per area and yield, making labor-saving cultivation possible. The compatibility of the high-yield and labor-saving characteristics derived from the intermediate type of inflorescence shape is novel in strawberries for forcing cultivation. Plant vigor, axillary bud vigor, early flowering, and characteristics of faster fruit maturation may have contributed to this compatibility.