Florida strawberry growers have demonstrated resilience after enduring back-to-back hits from hurricanes Helene and Milton this year.

The University of Florida announced in a press release that through hard work and efficient problem-solving, growers have planted the strawberries that will be available from December through April.

Kenneth Parker, executive director of the Florida Strawberry Growers Association, works closely with University of Florida breeders, Extension agents, and growers to help address the needs of the Florida strawberry industry.

Growers are doing their best to ensure Florida strawberries are available for the holidays, the release said.

“As a general rule of thumb, Florida growers aim to complete planting each year around the first of November,” Parker said. “For the most part, the industry has held to this standard through the hard work, dedication, and perseverance of both our growers and farmworkers.”

Following the storms, some areas required extra effort to get the fields back in working order to complete planting. Growers had to wait for the water to recede before beginning their recovery efforts, Parker said.

“There is no way of accurately predicting yield each season due to all the variables that determine this number,” he said. “But we look forward to meeting the demands of consumers this growing season with the freshest, highest quality strawberries.”

Additionally, the University noted that some growers are now planting two new UF/IFAS strawberry varieties that resist a disease plants can get from too much moisture in the soil.

UF/IFAS professor and strawberry breeder Vance Whitaker has developed Ember and Encore, bred to resist phytophthora root rot. The resistance could help strawberry yields, given the volume of rain that fell and the wet soil conditions, Whitaker said.

“Some plants experienced a lot of water. The flooding is most likely to kill a plant that’s susceptible to root diseases,” a faculty member at the UF/IFAS Gulf Coast Research and Education Center said. “So, these new varieties should help growers maintain their yield as well as provide a new level of fruit quality.” 

Vance Whitaker. Photo: UF

In their first year of commercial use, the two varieties account for about 10% of the 14,000 acres of strawberries in Florida. While that’s not a huge percentage, Whitaker expects the acreage to increase in future years.

“We have a favorable weather outlook for the harvesting season,” he said. “People should expect a typical Florida strawberry season.”

It took about four years to develop these new cultivars and get them to commercial farms, which is typical for a new variety. But the time spent is well worth the effort, even if it’s sometimes in inclement weather, Whitaker said.

“The breeding program had to get through the hurricanes and get our trials planted, ultimately for the benefit of the industry,” he said. “We’re all in this together. We support the growers, and they’ve been supportive of us.”

Photos courtesy of the University of Florida

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