Strawberry Plant Named ‘UC Keystone’

Genus and species: The strawberry plant of this invention is botanically known as Fragaria x ananassa Duchesne.

Variety denomination: The variety denomination is ‘UC Keystone’.

BACKGROUND

This invention relates to a new and distinct day-neutral strawberry cultivar designated as ‘UC Keystone’, which originated from a cross performed in the winter of 2017. The plant of this selection was originally designated ‘17C138P062’.

BRIEF SUMMARY

‘UC Keystone’ is a Fusarium wilt resistant day-neutral cultivar that originated in the winter of 2017 from a cross between ‘UCD Moxie’ (U.S. Plant Pat. No. 32,953) and ‘UCD Warrior’ (U.S. Plant Pat. No. 32,950). It is not known which is the male parent and which is the female parent. Clones of ‘UC Keystone’ were initially propagated from a single mother plant in 2018. ‘UC Keystone’ has since been preserved by annual cycles of asexual propagation from stolons in a facility at Winters, California.

‘UC Keystone’ was selected from a full-sib family (17C138) generated from the cross between ‘UCD Moxie’ and ‘UCD Warrior’. ‘UC Keystone’ shares one of the same parents, ‘UCD Moxie’, with ‘UC Golden Gate’ (U.S. Plant patent application Ser. No. 18/135,710, filed of even date). Seeds of the 17C138 family and the full-sib family 17C139, from which ‘UC Golden Gate’ originated, were harvested from greenhouse-grown plants in the spring of 2017 and germinated in June 2017. Seedlings were transplanted to a greenhouse in July 2017, hardened off in a shade house in August 2017, and transplanted to the field in September 2017. ‘UC Keystone’ was one of 10,000 individual hybrid plants from 397 full-sib families that were grown in 2017-18). The population was visually phenotyped in the spring of 2018 to: (a) identify individuals with outstanding fruit size, firmness, symmetry, color, gloss, and visual appeal; (b) eliminate individuals with fruit defects and deformities; (c) estimate marketable fruit yields; (d) identify putative photoperiod insensitive individuals; (e) assess stolon proliferation (runner production) and plant architecture; and (f) select individuals for clonal multiplication and further testing. Ninety-four individuals from the 2017-18 selection cycle were selected for on-farm advanced testing (Phase I, II, and III) in day-neutral production environments, from Nipomo in southern California to Prunedale in northern California. Disease resistance of the selections was tested in Davis, California.

‘UC Keystone’ differs from the closest comparison varieties as follows: Parent ‘UCD Moxie’ has a “reduced runnering” phenotype and produces fewer runners than ‘UC Keystone’. ‘UC Keystone’ has improved tolerance to Macrophomina compared to ‘UCD Moxie’, which is susceptible. ‘UC Keystone’ also has moderate resistance to Verticillium wilt compared to parent ‘UCD Warrior’, which is moderately susceptible. ‘UC Keystone’ is less compact and has shorter flower trusses than related variety ‘UC Golden Gate’ and produces higher yields of fruit in the late season compared to ‘UC Golden Gate’, which produces more fruit early in the season. Further comparison varieties ‘Monterey’ (U.S. Plant Pat. No. 19,767), ‘UCD Royal Royce’ (U.S. Plant Pat. No. 32,952) and ‘UCD Valiant’ (U.S. Plant Pat. No. 32,984) employed in comparative field trials described herein are susceptible to Fusarium wilt, in contrast to ‘UC Keystone’.

‘UC Keystone’ was genotyped with a 50,000-SNP array (Hardigan et. al., Frontiers in Plant Science 10:1789, 2020; Hardigan et al., Mol. Biol. Evol. 38:2285-2305, 2021) that included 72 cultivars owned by the University of California and 300 publicly available cultivars not owned by the University of California. After quality- and LD-pruning, 31,212 SNP markers with well-separated codominant genotypic clusters were selected for further analysis. These analyses confirmed that ‘UC Keystone’ is genetically distinct from its parent varieties, related variety ‘UC Golden Gate’, and comparison varieties ‘Monterey’, ‘UCD Royal Royce’, and ‘UCD Valiant’, as well as all of the other cultivars evaluated.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The colors in the photograph are depicted as nearly true as is reasonably possible to obtain in color reproductions of this type.

FIG. 1 depicts fruit of ‘UC Keystone’.

FIG. 2 shows 5 -month old ‘UC Keystone’ plants.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Botanical Description

Botanical descriptors of ‘UC Keystone’ are provided in Table 1. The descriptors were collected in the spring and summer of 2022 from plants grown in Santa Maria, California. Plants evaluated in the spring were 6 months old. Plants evaluated in the summer were 8 months old. Colors are designated with reference to The Royal Horticultural Society (R.H.S.) Colour Chart, Sixth Edition, 2015. The characteristics of ‘UC Keystone’ may vary in detail, depending upon environmental factors and culture conditions.

TABLE 1

a Mean values were estimated from nine samples per trait.

Range (Mean a ) or

Color (RHS Colour

Category Trait Unit Designation)

Foliar Plant height mm 300-360(328)

Foliar Plant spread mm 520-620(566)

Foliar Plant growth habit Semi-upright

Foliar Position of the Above

inflorescence in

relation to foliage

Foliar Mid-tier leaflet length mm 90-120(102)

Foliar Mid-tier leaflet width mm 110-140(129)

Foliar Petiole length mm 230-290(250)

Foliar Stipule core color color code Moderate Yellow

Green (146 C)

Foliar Stipule margin color color code Moderate Yellow

Green (146 A)

Foliar Stolons/nursery count 10-12(11.0)

mother plant

Foliar Stolon color color code Brilliant Yellow

Green (150 C)

Foliar Leaf color, adaxial color code Moderate Olive

Green (147 A)

Foliar Leaf color, abaxial color code Moderate Yellow

Green (147 B)

Foliar Leaf, blistering Medium

Foliar Leaf, glossiness Medium

Foliar Leaf, shape of the Obtuse

base of terminal leaflet

Flower Petal, arrangement of Overlapping

petals

Flower Petal number count 5-6(5)

Flower Petal length mm 10-15(12)

Flower Petal width mm 10-15(12)

Flower Calyx diameter mm 25-40(35)

Flower Corolla diameter mm 19-27(21)

Flower Calyx, size in relation Larger

to corolla

Flower Flower, Stamen Present

Flower Sepal number count 10-15(11)

Flower Calyx Color color code Moderate Olive

Green (137 A)

Flower Upper Petal Color color code White (NN155 D)

Flower Lower Petal Color color code White (NN155 D)

Flower Stamen number count 22-32(27)

Fruit Achene Color color code Greenish Brilliant

Fruit Position of achenes Yellow (4 A)

Below Surface

Fruit Fruit length mm 43-56(50)

Fruit Fruit width mm 30-38(34)

Fruit Shape Conical

Fruit Size of hollow core mm 0-10(6)

Fruit External Fruit color code Vivid Red (44 A)

(exterior) color

Fruit Fruit flesh color color code Vivid Reddish Orange

(33 A)

Fruit Fruit core color color code Moderate Reddish

Orange (35 A&B)

Fruit Fruit size g/fruit 22-30(26)

The time of the beginning of flowering is late February, 4 months post-planting.

Fusarium Resistance

Marker-assisted selection was employed to identify individuals predicted to be heterozygous or homozygous for the dominant (favorable) alleles for a Fusarium wilt resistance locus (FW1) and the PERPETUAL FLOWERING (PF) locus. The genotypes predicted by PF- and FW-linked SNPs for ‘UC Keystone’ were PFpf and FW1fw1. The predicted genotypes were confirmed with a 50,000 Aximo SNP array (Hardigan et al, 2020).

The dominant FW1 allele confers resistance to Fusarium wilt race 1, cause by Fusarium oxysporum f.sp. fragariae. Fusarium resistance was further tested by three years of replicated testing of bare-root plants artificially inoculated with AMP132, a race 1 isolate of the pathogen. The resistance of ‘UC Keystone’ to Fusarium wilt was compared to that of ‘UC Golden Gate’, ‘San Andreas’ (U.S. Plant Pat. No. 19,975), which is heterozygous FW1fw1 Fusarium wilt-resistant; and to susceptible (homozygous recessive (fw1fw1)) varieties ‘Monterey’, ‘UCD Royal Royce’, and ‘UCD Valiant’. ‘UC Keystone’, ‘UC Golden Gate’, and ‘San Andreas’ were symptomless in these Fusarium wilt screening trials over three years (Table 2) with the mean disease scores in the highly resistant range and were not significantly different. The mean disease scores for ‘Monterey’, ‘UCD Royal Royce’, and ‘UCD Valiant’ were significantly greater than for ‘UC Keystone’ (ordinal scores increase as disease symptoms increase).

‘UC Keystone’ resistance to Verticillium wilt and Phytophthora crown rot (PhCR) was also evaluated (see, also Table 3) in comparison to ‘UC Golden Gate’, ‘Monterey’, ‘UCD Royal Royce’, and ‘UCD Valiant’. ‘UC Keystone’ and ‘UC Golden Gate’ are moderately resistant to these diseases. Their resistance phenotypes are not significantly different from those of ‘San Andreas’ and ‘Monterey’, and other commercially important cultivars.

TABLE 2

Across-year estimated-marginal means (EMMs) a for Fusarium wilt,

Verticillium wilt, and Phytophthora crown rot (PhCR) resistance scores b

for ‘UC Keystone’, ‘UC Golden Gate’, ‘UCD Valiant’, ‘UCD Royal

Royce’, ‘San Andreas’, and ‘Monterey’ observed in 2019-20,

2020-21, and 2021-22 disease resistance screening trials in Davis, CA.

Test

Cultivar

Check Check

Cultivar Cultivar

Disease c EMM d EMM t e p-value f

Fusarium Wilt UCD Valiant 1.25 2.88 −3.86 0.0003

UCD Royal 2.98 −4.12 0.0001

Royce

San Andreas 1.15 0.19 0.85

Monterey 3.36 −4.67 <0.0001

UC Golden Gate 1.17 0.19 0.85

Verticillium UCD Valiant 2.12 1.93 0.43 0.67

Wilt UCD Royal 2.31 −0.44 0.66

Royce

San Andreas 1.29 1.19 0.24

Monterey 2.36 −0.46 0.64

UC Golden Gate 1.97 0.34 0.74

Phytophthora UCD Valiant 2.44 2.25 0.35 0.73

Crown Rot UCD Royal 2.33 0.21 0.84

Royce

San Andreas 1.83 0.85 0.40

Monterey 3.07 −0.92 0.36

UC Golden Gate 2.25 0.34 0.73

a EMMs were estimated from four replications/entry/year over three years (12 observations/entry), except for Fusarium , where additional screening in 2022 resulted in 24 observations/entry.

b The ordinal symptom rating scales were identical for each disease: 1 = highly resistant, 2 = moderately resistant, 3 = moderately susceptible, 4 = susceptible, and 5 = highly susceptible.

c The fungal pathogens causing these diseases are Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. fragariae ( Fusarium wilt), Verticillium dahliae ( Verticillium wilt), Phytophthora cactorum ( Phytophthora crown rot).

d The ‘test’ cultivars were ‘UC Keystone’ (shown in the upper half of the table) and ‘UC Golden Gate’ (shown in the lower half of the table).

e t-statistics for linear contrasts (EMM 1 -EMM 2 ) between the EMMs for ‘UC Keystone’ or ‘UC Golden Gate’ and check cultivars.

f The probability of a greater t-statistic by chance for tests of the null hypothesis of no difference between EMMs (H 0 : EMM 1 = EMM 2 ).

Photoperiod Insensitive Phenotype

The dominant PF allele is necessary for photoperiod insensitive flower in cultivated strawberry. The predicted photoperiod insensitive phenotype of ‘UC Keystone’ was confirmed through three years of on-farm testing in Sana Maria, California and Prunedale, California. ‘UC Keystone’ consistently flowered and fruited throughout the commercial day-neutral growing seasons in Nipomo (35.0N) and Prunedale (36.8N) where daylengths ranged from 9.8 to 14.7 hours.

Field Evaluations

Three seasons of advanced testing of selected day-neutral hybrids originating from the 2017-18 breeding cycle, starting with ninety-four in 2018-19 and finishing with six in 2021-22, one of which was ‘UC Keystone’, were completed. Comparison cultivars were ‘UC Golden Gate’, ‘Monterey’, ‘UCD Royal Royce’, and ‘UCD Valiant’.

Clones (asexually propagated bare-root plants) for the first year of testing (Phase I in 2018-19) were produced in Winters, California. Clones for subsequent years of testing (Phase II in 2019-20 and 2020-21 and Phase III in 2021-22 and 2022-23) were produced in commercial high-elevation nurseries (Dorris, California) using standard production and propagation practices and post-harvest chilling treatments optimized for the day-neutral market segment. Clones were harvested in late October, trimmed, and directly planted in late October and early November of each year.

For on-farm yield trials, plants were grown in two 10-plant plots in Phase I and two 20-plant plots in Phase II yield trials, and two 500- or 1,000-plant strips in Phase III yield trials. The plots were arranged in randomized complete blocks experiment designs in commercial production fields. These experiments were grown using the management practices, bed configurations, plastic mulches, planting densities, planting dates, irrigation, fertilization, and pesticide application decisions and schedules, and harvest schedules of our cooperators.

Marketable fruit yield, count, and size were recorded at each harvest. Collection and analysis of 18,526 observations were employed for these traits to support statistical analyses.

Fruit Quality

Fruit from early and peak season harvests from every trial were performed to phenotype hybrids for firmness, total soluble solids (TSS=Brix), and titratable acidity (TA). The peak and late season fruit from four environments were stored at 4° C. and screened for post-harvest perishability over 14 days. These samples were phenotyped for weight, TSS, TA, firmness, gloss, and leakage at 0, 7, and 14 days post-harvest (DPH). Over three growing seasons, 2,273 phenotypic observations were collected for fruit quality traits at harvest to support statistical analyses and selection decisions.

Plants were assessed for flavor and aroma through informal hedonic testing in the field and laboratory by various individuals. Although specific volatile organic compounds (VOCs) known to affect aroma were not selected for, selection pressure for enhanced flavor and aroma was applied and VOC profiles were analyzed for 152 cultivars and other hybrids over two years of on-farm testing. ‘UC Keystone’ was among the hybrids phenotyped for VOC. These data were used to assess the effect of subjective olfactory and gustatory assessments on aroma profile changes. VOC analyses were performed using solid phase microextraction (SPME) gas chromatography-mass spectroscopy of fruit samples collected from early and peak season harvests over two years from on-farm yield trials in Santa Maria and Prunedale, California. Although at least 360 VOCs have been identified in developing strawberry receptacles, aroma and flavor are dominated by fewer than 10. Data for approximately 52 VOCs affecting aroma (58,488 phenotypic observations) were collected and analyzed to support statistical analyses. Data for three VOCs (γ-decalactone, mesifurane, and linalool) that are predicted to contribute towards the improved flavor of ‘UC Keystone’ and ‘UC Golden Gate’ are provided.

The fruit quality of ‘UC Keystone’ equal or exceeds the fruit quality and shelf life standards of long shelf life (LSL) cultivars designed for prolonged cold storage and long-distance shipping. Table 3 provides a comparison of the cumulative marketable fruit yields and other fruit traits.

TABLE 3

Across-environment estimated marginal means (EMMs) for cumulative

marketable fruit yield and other fruit traits for ‘UC Keystone’ and

comparison cultivars grown on commercial farms in Nipoomo and

Prunedale, CA over three growing seasons (2019-20 to 2021-22) a .

UC Comparison

Comparison Keystone Cultivar

Trait a Cultivar EMM EMM t b p-value c

Yield Monterey 103,710 88,323 1.42 0.16

(lb/acre) UCD Valiant 91,783 1.10 0.28

UCD Royal 89,044 1.35 0.18

Royce

UC Golden 95,730 0.73 0.47

Gate

Size Monterey 28.0 29.7 −3.23 0.001

(g/fruit) UCD Valiant 33.0 −8.91 <0.0001

UCD Royal 28.8 −1.39 0.16

Royce

UC Golden 28.7 −1.20 0.23

Gate

Firmness Monterey 260.6 239.1 1.96 0.05

(g-force) UCD Valiant 297.1 −2.93 0.005

UCD Royal 349.9 −7.18 <0.0001

Royce

UC Golden 303.7 −3.25 0.002

Gate

TSS (%) Monterey 8.29 8.89 −4.19 0.0001

UCD Valiant 7.37 5.78 <0.0001

UCD Royal 7.57 4.55 <0.0001

Royce

UC Golden 7.84 2.59 0.01

Gate

TA (%) Monterey 0.77 0.76 −0.39 0.70

UCD Valiant 0.82 −2.97 0.005

UCD Royal 0.82 −2.87 0.006

Royce

UC Golden 0.85 4.21 0.0001

Gate

TSS/TA Monterey 11.01 10.44 −2.69 0.01

UCD Valiant 9.20 6.35 <0.0001

UCD Royal 9.55 5.12 <0.0001

Royce

UC Golden 9.45 5.19 <0.0001

Gate

a Cumulative marketable fruit yields were estimated from fruit harvested on commercial schedules (once or twice weekly) over the entire day-neutral growing season on each farm. Fruit firmness, total soluble solids (TSS), and titratable acidity (TA) were measured from multiple fruit/replication sampled from two harvests/trial. EMMs and test statistics were estimated from the phenotypes of fruit harvested from two 24-plant plots/entry/environment.

b t-statistics for linear contrasts (EMM 1 -EMM 2 ) between ‘UC Keystone’ and check cultivar EMMs.

c The probability of a greater t-statistic by chance for tests of the null hypothesis of no difference between EMMs (H 0 : EMM 1 = EMM 2 ).

‘UC Keystone’ produced large fruit (28.0 to 28.7 g/fruit) in the on-farm trials (Table 3). Their fruit weights were in the normal range for mass-produced day-neutral cultivars in California and above the market critical threshold needed for cost-effective hand harvest (labor costs increase as fruit size decreases).

‘UC Golden Gate’ fruit were significantly firmer (303.7 g-force) than ‘UC Keystone’ (260.6 g-force; p=0.0002) and ‘Monterey’ (239.1 g-force; p<0.0001). The firmness of these cultivars exceeded the threshold (>230 g-force) necessary for minimizing harvest and post-harvest losses and delivering a high quality product to markets over long distances.

The sweetness and sourness profiles of ‘UC Keystone’ and ‘UC Golden Gate’ are slightly different. Total soluble solids (TSS) were slightly greater for ‘UC Keystone’ (8.33) than ‘UC Golden Gate’ (7.85; p=0.008), whereas titratable acidity (TA) was greater for ‘UC Golden Gate’ (0.83) than ‘UC Keystone’ (0.74; p=0.0003). The TSS/TA ratio (a measure of perceived sweetness) was significantly greater for ‘UC Keystone’ (11.66) than ‘UC Golden Gate’ (9.86; p=0.0001) and non-significantly greater than ‘Monterey’ (10.44; p=0.01), whereas the TSS/TA ratio for ‘UC Golden Gate’ was significantly lower than ‘Monterey’ (p<0.0001). Hence, the sweetness and perceived sweetness ratings for ‘UC Keystone’ and ‘Monterey’ were virtually identical and greater than that of ‘UC Golden Gate’.

‘UC Keystone’ and ‘UC Golden Gate’ were identified to have improved aroma from subjective olfactory and gustatory assessments of fruit. Solid phase microextraction (SPME) GC-MS analyses of volatile organic compounds (Table 4) suggested that part of the improved flavor of ‘UC Keystone’ and ‘UC Golden Gate’ can be attributed to an increase in γ-decalactone (5-hexyloxolan-2-one), the most abundant lactone found in strawberry. This VOC, which imparts an intense-peach flavor, is abundant in ‘Albion’ (U.S. Plant Pat. No. 16,228) and absent in ‘Monterey’.

TABLE 4

Across-year estimated-marginal means (EMMs) a for

γ-decalactone, mesifurane, and linalool concentrations a

in ripe fruit of ‘UC Keystone’, ‘UC Golden Gate’,

and comparison cultivars harvested in 2020-21 and

2021-22 from on-farm yield trials in Nipomo, CA.

γ-decalactone mesifurane linalool

Cultivar EMM EMM EMM

Monterey 0 1,025,275 58,682

UCD Royal Royce 7,253 247,148 0

UCD Valiant 14,406 213,015 1,374

UC Keystone 34,740 156,584 20,783

UC Golden Gate 7,273 241,300 6,265

Albion 132,592 991,288 17,942

LSD b 109,763 146,678 26,860

a EMMs were estimated from fruit sampled from two 20- or 40-plant plots/entry/year. The relative concentrations of volatile organic compounds (ng/g dry weight) were estimated from the raw solid phase microextraction (SPME) GC-MS data (peak area in counts) and normalized samples.

b Least significant differences are shown for a false-positive probability of p = 0.05.

‘UC Keystone’ and ‘UC Golden Gate’ meet or exceed the shelf life requirements for mass-produced cultivars developed for cold storage and long distance shipping in California. Minimal declines were observed in the deterioration of fruit firmness and other fruit quality traits over 14 days of post-harvest cold storage using fruit sampled from peak and late season harvests No statistically significant differences for fruit weight, TSS, TA, or leakage between ‘UC Keystone’ and ‘UC Golden Gate’ and comparison cultivars were observed.

Fruit Production Characteristics—Field Trials

The number of harvests ranged from 40 to 61 in each trial to assess ‘UC Keystone’ fruit production in comparison to that of ‘UC Golden Gate’ ‘Monterey’, ‘UCD Royal Royce’, and ‘UCD Valiant’. Marketable fruit yield, count, and size were recorded at each harvest. Collection and analysis of 18,526 observations was performed for these traits to support statistical analyses.

Statistics are shown for linear contrasts between the estimated marginal means (EMMs) for ‘UC Keystone’, ‘UC Golden Gate’ , and comparison cultivars across environment (2 locations 3 years) and for individual environments to highlight variation in planting dates, the number of harvests, harvest ranges, and production practices (Table 5). EMMs were estimated from two 20-plant plots (replications)/entry/environment in 2020 and 2021 and two 540-plant plots in 2022.

UC Compare

Keystone Cultivar

Comparison EMM EMM

Location Season Cultivar (lb/a) (lb/a)

Nipomo 2019-20 Monterey 88,028 64,797

UC Royal Royce 79,625

UC Valiant 90,853

UC Golden Gate 82,971

Prunedale 2019-20 Monterey 103,149 73,300

UC Royal Royce 101,146

UC Valiant 81,841

UC Golden Gate 103,065

Nipomo 2020-21 Monterey 99,214 70,682

UC Royal Royce 93,142

UC Valiant 107,279

UC Golden Gate 99,935

Prunedale 2020-21 Monterey 115,908 97,546

UC Royal Royce 128,842

UC Valiant 119,684

UC Golden Gate 123,669

Nipomo 2021-22 Monterey 56,691 69,976

UC Royal Royce 39,241

UC Valiant 57,602

UC Golden Gate 59,740

Prunedale 2021-22 Monterey 158,914 152,127

UC Royal Royce 92,924

UC Valiant 93,437

UC Golden Gate 104,999

Yield

Change

Location (%) b t c p-value d

Nipomo 35.9 3.70 0.004

10.6 1.03 0.33

−3.1 −0.45 0.66

6.1 0.84 0.42

Prunedale 40.7 5.56 0.0002

2.0 0.37 0.72

26.0 3.97 0.002

0.1 0.02 0.99

Nipomo 40.4 3.16 0.01

6.5 0.67 0.52

−7.5 −0.89 0.39

−0.7 −0.08 0.94

Prunedale 18.8 2.92 0.01

−10.0 −2.05 0.06

−3.2 −0.60 0.56

−6.3 −1.23 0.24

Nipomo −19.0 −5.17 <0.0001

44.5 5.54 <0.0001

−1.6 −0.29 0.78

−5.1 −0.97 0.34

Prunedale 4.5 1.25 0.23

71.0 9.89 <0.0001

9.8 70.1 <0.0001

51.3 8.08 <0.0001

a Linear contrasts between estimated marginal means (EMMs) for ‘UC Keystone’ and comparison cultivars were estimated for each environment. EMMs were estimated from two 20-or 40-plant plots/entry within each environment. Cumulative marketable fruit yields were estimated from fruit harvested on commercial schedules (once or twice weekly) over the entire day-neutral growing season on each farm.

b The yield change percentage was estimated by (EMM 1 − EMM 2 )/EMM 2 × 100.

c t-statistics for linear contrasts (EMM 1 − EMM 2 ) between the EMMs for ‘UC Keystone’ and comparison cultivars.

d The probability of a greater t-statistic by chance for tests of the null hypothesis of no difference between EMMs (H 0 : EMM 1 = EMM 2 ).

‘UC Keystone’ and ‘UC Golden Gate’ were the highest yielding cultivars in these trials. When averaged across environments, however, the yields of ‘UC Keystone’, ‘UC Golden Gate’, and the three comparison cultivars were not statistically different. Thus, ‘UC Keystone’ has yields at least equal to the Fusarium wilt-susceptible comparison cultivars.

The cumulative marketable fruit yields of ‘UC Keystone’ were 6,787 to 29,849 lb/a greater than ‘Monterey’ in five environments and 13,285 lb/a lb/a less than ‘Monterey’ in one environment (Nipomo 2021-22) (Table 5).

The cumulative marketable yield plots for each environment highlight the differences among cultivars and growing seasons. The yields of ‘Monterey’ were below and separated from ‘UC Keystone’, ‘UC Golden Gate’, and the other comparison cultivars in the first two growing seasons. Yields dropped in the last growing season (2021-22) in Nipomo especially compared to previous years, with less separation among cultivars.

The cumulative marketable fruit yields of ‘UC Keystone’ and ‘UC Golden Gate’ were not significantly different in five of six test environments or across environments (Tables 3 and 5). The yield of ‘UC Keystone’ was significantly greater than ‘UC Golden Gate’ in one environment (Prunedale 2021-2022). The reasons for yield decreases for ‘UC Golden Gate’, ‘UCD Royal Royce’, and ‘UCD Valiant’ in the 2021-22 Prunedale trial were not clear. The affected plants ultimately recovered, however, and produced an abundance of fruit later in the season.

‘UC Keystone’ is thus a highly productive Fusarium wilt resistant cultivar for the day-neutral segment that meets or exceeds the shelf life, flavor, and fruit quality characteristics of ‘Monterey’.