Transplant season influences the horticultural potential of strawberry cultivars in Brazil

Experiments were conducted to examine the effect of time of planting on the performance of 'Albion' and 'Camarosa' strawberry plants in a greenhouse in Brazil. New transplants were planted in March, April, May or June in the first year, and in March, April or May in the second year. Information was collected on crown production, leaf area expansion, shoot dry weight, marketable yield and average fruit fresh weight. Vegetative growth and marketable yields were higher in 'Camarosa' than in 'Albion', while the reverse was true for average fruit fresh weight. The number of crowns/plant, leaf area/plant and shoot dry weight generally decreased as planting was delayed. Yields were highly variable with no clear pattern across years, except for lower yields with the plantings in June. Mean yields (+/- SE) were 766 +/- 72 g/plant for March, 876 +/- 135 g/plant for April, 723 +/- 169 g/plant for May and 533 +/- 209 g/plant for June. Average fruit fresh weight decreased as yield increased and was lower in the earlier plantings. The results of these experiments suggest that the new transplants can be planted from March to May for commercial production in this area.