Breeding dayneutral strawberries for Northern North America

In northern North America, dayneutral strawberries are becoming popular. However, few new northern-adapted dayneutral cultivars have been released. Northern North American breeders face many problems in their quest to produce dayneutral cultivars: what appear to be non-Mendelian segregation ratios, lack of adaptability to short days and high summer temperatures, fruit quality concerns in high temperatures, severe infestations of tarnished plant bug (Lygus spp.), and problems with propagation. Recently, we have been able to incorporate repeat flowering Fragaria virginiana germplasm into our genepool. This brings another source of dayneutrality and a greater propensity to produce runners into the F. x ananassa background. Progress towards overcoming these problems in breeding northern adapted dayneutrals will be discussed.