Saint-Pierre

Saint-Pierre

A new june bearing strawberry cultivar for the eastern central Canada and climate similar to Quebec conditions

‘AC-Saint-Pierre' is a new June bearing strawberry cultivar (Fragaria x ananassa Duch.) bred for Eastern Central Canada and climate similar to Quebec condition. 'AC-Saint-Pierre' was released because of its very large and firm fruit and its keeping quality several days after picking or maturity in the field. It is ideal for growers who need to store the fruits several days before marketing.
Origin
'AC-Saint-Pierre', tested as SJ89264-6, is a progeny resulting from a cross between 'Chandler' and 'Jewel', made in 1989 by S. Khanizadeh. 'AC-Saint-Pierre' 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 from 1996-1998 in controlled semi-commercial sites by our private partners Lareault Inc., Les Fraises de l'Ile d'Orleans Inc., le Réseau d'Essais de Petits Fruits - CPVQ Inc. (Quebec Regional small fruit trials, Conseil des productions végétales du Québec) in Quebec and also in Europe by our partner Meiosis limited (Bradbourne House, Stable Block, East Malling, Kent, Me19 6DZ, UK) and by Haberli AG nursery.
Description
Plants of 'AC-Saint-Pierre' are vigorous, have an upright growing habit and produce 2-5 inflorescences per crown. They can tolerate winter temperatures below -30ºC (with 10 cm straw mulch cover). Petioles are 10-15 cm long with three large, light green, slightly cupped, shiny and obtuse leaflets, each with 24-30 serrations. The terminal leaflets have a 1:1 length/width ratio and the flowers are perfect. 'AC-Saint-Pierre' produces attractive and very large, light red, shiny fruit. Fruit color is an attractive light yellowish red when the plants are grown in light soil. The fruit shape is conical with a raised neck. The flesh is dark throughout and firm. Fresh fruit store well for up to 5 days at room temperature. Fruit descriptions originating in Europe report similar observations for fruit colour, shelf life and firmness (Meiosis Limited Annual Report, Kent, UK). 'AC-Saint-Pierre' produced yields similar to those of the cultivars 'Joliette', 'Oka', 'Kent', 'Glooscap', 'Chambly', and 'Bounty'. It outyielded 'Sparkle' and 'Blomidon'. 'AC-Saint-Pierre' is a late cultivar. The fruit ripen 1-2 days before 'Bounty' in our area, but it reaches its midpoint earlier than 'Bounty' due to its concentrated cropping. Some symptoms of powdery mildew were noted on 'AC-Saint-Pierre' plants since observations began in 1990 especially after a heavy rain fall, however plants are less susceptible to mildew than 'Bounty' or 'Kent'. 'AC-Saint-Pierre' is recommended for growers in Eastern Central Canada, especially in areas where the climate is similar to that in the strawberry production areas of Quebec. This cultivar is useful where there is a need to extend the strawberry season or for transportation. 'AC-Saint-Pierre' plants perform very well in sandy soil and they are also adapted to growing in compact or heavy soil. This genotype is presently being evaluated in other provinces of Canada, in the United States, and in Europe.
Availability
Contact the licenced nurseries or the breeder.

PBRO and other patents

Frukt & Bär

Viola -Frukt & Bär - September 2005 (PDF)