l'Acadie

L'Acadie

A june bearing strawberry cultivar for fresh market or pick your own

'AC-L'Acadie' is a new June-bearing strawberry cultivar (Fragaria x ananassa Duch.) bred for Eastern Central Canada and more specifically for Quebec growing conditions. 'AC-L'Acadie' was released because of its large, firm fruit, its moderate resistance to leaf diseases and partial resistance to red stele (Phytophthora fragariae Hickman), its keeping quality of several days after picking or maturity in the field, and after receiving requests for propagation licences from nurseries in Quebec. It is ideal for shipping or for growers who need to store fresh fruit several days before marketing. It is recommended for pick your own and/or fresh market.
The Prefix 'AC' in the name stands for 'Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada' and the name 'L'Acadie' was chosen because the selection was selected and tested several years at L'Acadie the location of the Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada substation where most of the strawberry research and breeding are being conducted in the province of Quebec. Origin 'AC-L'Acadie', tested as SJ8916-50, is a progeny from a cross between 'Glooscap' and 'Guardian' made in 1989 by S. Khanizadeh. 'Glooscap' is a popular commercial cultivar in Eastern Central Canada. It has high yields of high quality, glossy, dark red fruit with a raised calyx. 'Guardian' was released by the Agricultural Research Station, Maryland and the Crops Research Division of the U.S. Department of Agriculture. It was used as a parent because of its large, firm, pale red fruit, and its known resistance to five races of red stele, verticillium wilt, leaf scorch and powdery mildew. 'AC-L'Acadie' has been tested at the Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada substation in L'Acadie, Quebec since 1990, and at the Macdonald Campus of McGill University in Ste-Anne-de-Bellevue during 1992-1994. It was also evaluated during 1996-1998 in controlled semi-commercial sites by our private partners Lareault Inc. and Les Fraises de l'Ile d'Orleans Inc. in Quebec. Description Plants of 'AC-L'Acadie' are semi-vigorous and have 4-7 inflorescences. They can tolerate winter temperatures below -30^oC (with 10 cm straw mulch cover). Petioles are medium long and the leaflets are large, dark green, flat, shinny, obovate, with about 17-24 serrations.
'AC-L'Acadie' is a midseason cultivar producing very uniform, large, shiny, pale red fruit. Fruit shape is necked-conic and the semi-reflexed calyces are as easy to decap as those of 'Chambly' and 'Glooscap'. The flesh is lighter red than the skin and it is sweet and firm. Fresh fruit store very well for up to 5 days at room temperature and frozen fruit retain their integrity after thawing.
'AC-L'Acadie' produced similar yields to 'Joliette', 'Oka', 'Kent', 'Glooscap' and 'Chambly' during 1995-1998. The index of crop concentration of 'AC-L'Acadie' was very similar to 'Joliette', but more concentrated than 'Kent'. No symptoms of powdery mildew (Sphaerotheca macularis Walls ex Fr.) were observed in any of the sites during all the years of testing. The plants were moderately resistant to leaf scorch (Diplocarpon earlina Ell. and Ev.), leaf blight (Dendrophoma obscurans Ell. and Ev.) and leaf spot (Mycosphaerella fragariae (Tul.) Lindau). No signs of gray mold fruit rot (Botrytis cinerea Pers. ex Fr.) were observed during the period of evaluation. 'AC-L'Acadie' plants were ranked partially resistant to the six North American Eastern (NAE) races of red stele (A1 to A6) in a controlled environment. Plants are tolerant to the herbicide 'Sinbar'. Availability Contact the licenced nurseries or the breeder.

PBRO and US Patent