Varieties and Season Information

Seasonality and Availability

Harvesting begins in the fall and early winter in Southern California and moves north as the season progresses. Peak season is between April and June when all of the growing districts are in full production. However, since 50 percent of the California crop is harvested after June 1, there are still plenty of strawberries available in the late summer and fall.

Major Growing Districts and Dominant Varieties: 2011 Growing Season

District	Acreage	Season	Varieties
Watsonville/Salinas	14,528	April - November	Albion dominates at 58.1% and proprietary varieties account for 36.7% of the acreage. San Andreas represents 3.2% of this district’s acreage.
Santa Maria	10,180	March - December	Proprietary varieties represent 28.2% of the acreage. Albion decreased to 43.6% and San Andreas increased to 17.7%. Camino Real planting decreased to 7.6% of the district’s acreage.
Oxnard	11,178	January -June (80.4% of acreage) andSeptember - December (19.6%)	Proprietary varieties dominate with 59.2% of the acreage. Ventana represents 11.5%. San Andreas reported an increase with 16.4% of the district’s acreage.
Orange County/ San Diego	1,393	January - May	The Camarosa variety is now 16.1% of the acreage. Ventana has decreased to 31.1% and is the most widely planted variety in the district.San Andreas makes up 24.8% of the district.
San Joaquin	147	February - June	At 100%, Chandler is the only variety in this district. This district is committed primarily to the process market.

Total Acreage: 37,425

Varietal Information

California has several strawberry varieties in commercial production, each with its own characteristics, advantages, and harvest time. Below are the varieties most commonly grown on California’s more than 30,000 lush and fertile acres.

University of California Varieties

Albion - This new day-neutral variety has a seasonal fruit production yield similar to that of Diamante. However, Albion generally has a slightly lower spring peak and is less prone to a summer gap in production. Albion has a more consistently conical shape and similar fruit size and especially early in the season, has substantially better weather tolerance than Diamante. Its fruit color is darker, both internally and externally, and its flavor is consitently sweeter.

Camarosa - This short-day variety produces large, bright, firm and flavorful fruit with a good sheen. Because this fruit ships and stores so well, it can be picked with full red color and still retain shelf life. Due to early production potential, Camarosa is the primary variety for southern districts, though it’s also grown in the north. Released in 1993, Camarosa accounts for nearly one-third of the state's acreage.

Camino Real - This new short-day variety was commercially planted for the first time in 2002. Early tests show it performs well in the Santa Maria district. This variety has firm, dark red fruit with a good shelf life and very good flavor. Camino Real has a relatively high resistance to common plant diseases.

San Andreas - San Andreas is a moderate day-neutral variety with a production pattern very similar to Albion. The fruit is exceptional in appearance; color is slightly lighter than Albion. The flavor of San Andreas is outstanding, very similar to that of Albion. This variety has a good disease resistance profile with no outstanding cautions. Typically high quality fruit early in the season, together with a low chilling requirement, make this a good candidate cultivar for southern California. This variety accounts for 11.9% of the state’s acreage and 6.3% of the organic acreage.

Monterey - Monterey is a day-neutral variety, with a similar production pattern to Albion. The fruit for Monterey is slightly larger but less firm than for Albion. Post harvest traits for Monterey are similar to those for Albion. Monterey has outstanding flavor with a distinct sweet aftertaste that is unique among California cultivars. Monterey has a good disease resistance profile, although it is susceptible to powdery mildew. Grown largely in the Oxnard district, Monterey accounts for 8.6% of that district’s acreage, and 2.6% of the state’s acreage.

Ventana - This new short-day variety was available for the first time in 2002, on limited acreage. Ventana produces fruit earlier in the season than Camarosa, has excellent fruit quality, and though specifically adapted to early planting in southern California, has also performed well in Santa Maria. Ventana has bright red fruit, slightly lighter in color than Camarosa, a good flavor, shape and fruit size, with similar firmness and shelf-life to the Camarosa. Ventana accounts for nearly 9 percent of the state’s acreage.

Proprietary/Other Varieties

Many farms in California grow proprietary varieties. Unlike the publicly available plants bred by the University of California, these varieties are grown primarily for each individual company. There is also a small percentage of other University varieties grown throughout the state. Together, proprietary and other varieties represent more than 40 percent of the state's acreage.

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