California Berry Cultivars, an independent strawberry breeding company, says it has released two new strawberry varieties: Castaic and Alhambra.
The company said Castaic offers growers strong yields for short-day strawberry production and that the new variety achieves yields of more 8,000 trays per acre.
“Castaic shows that we still have significant room to push yield boundaries in strawberry breeding,” Kyle VandenLangenberg, director of research and development at CBC, said in a news release. “Its performance in commercial trials has consistently outpaced industry benchmarks while maintaining substantial berry size throughout the entire harvest season.”
Alhambra is a day-neutral summer strawberry that the company said offers robust commercial yields and a rich, sun-kissed sweetness that consumers demand.
“With Alhambra joining our established varieties, CBC now offers solutions across the full spectrum of production windows and agronomic challenges,” VandenLangenberg, said. “Our commitment to solving grower problems continues to drive our breeding program forward.”
Castaic and Alhambra join CBC’s established varieties Adelanto, Belvedere and Alturas. The company said Adelanto offers strong yields in early-season production, as well as excellent shipping quality and strong Macrophomina resistance, which causes charcoal rot or crown rot; Belvedere offers a short-day variety with high Brix levels and resistance to the Macrophomina pathogen; and Alturas offers a day-neutral producer with resistance to Fusarium.
“All five CBC varieties share our dedication to disease resistance, yield improvement and excellent eating quality,” VandenLangenberg said. “With each new release, we’re solving critical challenges while raising expectations for what growers can achieve with modern strawberry varieties.”
