Agronomic performance of experimental strawberry clones in southern Minas Gerais

In Brazil, there is a great dependence on strawberry seedlings imported from other countries, as demand is higher than national production. This study was developed in order to evaluate the agronomic performance of experimental strawberry clones for the Southern state of Minas Gerais and, thus, expand these plants to new frontiers of production in the state. The research was carried out in a randomized complete block experimental design, with five treatments and four replications, totaling 20 experimental plots and 100 plants. The following variables were evaluated: number of crowns, total number of trifoliates, plant height, total number of fruits, number of commercial fruits, number of non-commercial fruits, total yield, commercial yield, non-commercial yield, average fruit mass, average non-commercial fruit mass, and average commercial fruit mass. The post-harvest analyses were: fruit size, soluble solids content, firmness, and scores for external color, internal color, and fruit shape. The experimental clones show great potential to promote strawberry fruit production in Brazil, for both vegetative and productive parameters. The Pircinque cultivar was superior to the other genotypes in southern Minas Gerais, Inconfidentes municipality. The experimental clones and the Albion cultivar overlap in all months, showing vegetative and productive similarity.