Breeding report of a new strawberry cultivar 'Flame'

Abstract：'Flame' is a short-day strawberry cultivar derived from a cross between‘Maehyang'and‘Seolhyang'. It was initially selected in 2008 for its special shape and strong disease resistance. About 2 000 hybrids were obtained through artificial hybridization pollination. After regional adaptability testing at three sites (including suburb of Kunming, Gejiu city Laochang town, Zhaotong city Zhenxiong county) over four years from 2012 to 2015, it was finally released in 2016. The plant is strong and vigorous with halfspreading posture, plant height is 23 cm, crown diameter is 37.4 cm×31.7 cm. Leaf colour is green and shiny, leaf length is 11.1 cm, width is 9.2 cm, thickness is 0.32 cm, petiole length is 19.2 cm and petiole diameter is 0.42 cm. The inflorescence is dichasium, which is below or equal height with leaf, peduncle length is 15.3 cm, and peduncle diameter is 0.33 cm. Flower is white and bisexual, flower diameter is 3.5cm. The fruit is conical and uniform, with the average first grade weight is 31.0 g, the biggest fruit is 48.13 g. Fruit colour is orange red and shiny, flesh is light orange, heart-center hollow is small or nearly no. The fruit has excellent flavor and aroma, and contains 11.9% soluble solids, 11.17 sugar-acid ratio, and 1.19mg·g^-1 vitamin C. The plant has strong resistant to anthracnose and powdery mildew, and moderate resistant to gray mold, but susceptible to leaf spot. Plant management includes removing disease and old leaves, thinning flowers and fruits. Fruits need to be harvested at eight mature when orange colour. Harvest time is before 9:00 am or after 4:00 pm in sunny day, and all day in cloudy day. Stolon sprouting ability is strong. This cultivar is suitable for semi-forcing culture. The planting spacing in the rows and spacing between rows are about 20-25 cm×20-25 cm.