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Parentage
Valentina was raised from a cross made by Vicky Knight in 1990,
between the yellow-fruited selection, EM6225/11 and an
apricot-coloured selection, EM5588/81. The original seedling
(EM6432/71) was selected in 1994 because of its very attractive
apricot-coloured fruit and high yield potential.
Fruit Quality
Fruits are medium to large, blunt conical and a bright, pinky-apricot
colour, which looks very attractive on the plant. The fruit is easily
picked and has fair to good flavour, but has soft skin and the colour
goes very uneven (blotchy) after 72 h at ambient temperature and high
humidity. Valentina produced the highest yield out of 52 selections in
the Breeder's Stage 0 trials at East Malling in 1998 and has produced
consistently high yields since then.
Growth Characteristics
Valentina crops well down towards the base of the canes and the
fruit is well presented to the pickers. The new canes are tall and
upright, with healthy foliage and only a few spines. Although early
flowering, Valentina showed little frost damage in a bad frost year
(1997).
Pest and Disease Resistance
Valentina is resistant to biotypes 1-4 of the large raspberry
aphid, Amphorophora idaei and has not been recorded as infested with
the small raspberry aphid, Aphis idaei. At East Malling it has shown
nil or slight cane Botrytis, spur blight and cane spot since 1993.
Valentina has shown excellent resistance to root rot (Phytophthora
fragariae var. rubi) following inoculation of young potted plants in
the glasshouse in 2003 and 2004. Not recorded as RBDV-infected at East
Malling to date (planted 1990), so has strong field resistance to
pollen-borne infection.
Horticultural Value
A very promising apricot-fruited variety, with excellent pest and
disease characteristics, for the pick-your-own, amateur and other
specialised markets.
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.
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