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Parentage
Dr David Simpson and Judi Bell bred Alice, trialled as EM726, at
East Malling Research Ltd. It was initially selected in 1993 and has a
complex pedigree involving Korona, Totem, Holiday, Tioga, Redgauntlet,
Gorella, Redchief, Wiltguard and Surecrop.
Fruit Quality
The berries have a regular conical shape, although the larger
primaries may be ribbed. Skin and flesh is firm and the flavour is
consistently sweet, with a juicy texture. The fruit is attractive with
a glossy finish and a bright, orange-red colour. The achenes are
slightly raised. Shelf life is similar to Elsanta.
Yield & Fruit Size
The net yield has been similar to Elsanta in trials but the average
berry size is larger with greater than 70% of the fruit over 35mm. The
percentage waste is lower than Elsanta due to more consistent shape
and typically 80%+ has been in Class 1.
Season
The season is longer than Elsanta and has a less pronounced peak.
The 50% harvest date is 7 days later than Elsanta.
Marketing Suitability
Alice is a late mid-season dessert type that offers good fruit size
and quality. It should be suitable for all types of retail outlet and
taste panel data suggests that the flavour will be very popular with
consumers.
Plant Characteristics
Plants are slightly more vigorous than Elsanta with an erect habit.
The fruit is well displayed and can be harvested rapidly. Runner
production is similar to Elsanta. Propagators report that Alice is a
free runnering selection, producing small plants not best suited for
60 day production.
Disease Resistance
Alice has been resistant to Verticillium wilt and crown rot in
tests at East Malling Research Ltd. It is less susceptible to powdery
mildew than Elsanta but a standard spray programme is recommended for
this disease. In grower trials Alice has proved to be a robust variety
that has performed well on a range of different sites.
Use of the Variety
Alice is a versatile, “grower friendly” variety with a flavour and
texture that will appeal to consumers. It is expected to perform well
for all sectors of the dessert fruit industry. The large berry size
will reduce picking costs for growers supplying supermarkets and will
also appeal to customers on PYO farms.
Accreditations
The breeding of this variety was jointly funded by the
Department for the Environment Food and Rural Affairs (Defra), MEIOSIS
Ltd and the East Malling Trust for Horticultural Research. The
trialling of this variety was funded by MEIOSIS Ltd and the
Horticultural Development Council (HDC).
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