Reconstructing Fragaria x ananassa utilizing wild F. virginiana and F. chiloensis: Inheritance of winter injury, photoperiod sensitivity, fruit size, female fertility and disease resistance in hybrid progenies

The genetics of disease resistance, winter hardiness, spring bloom date, fruit set, ovule set, fruit size, and photoperiod sensitivity was investigated in crosses between sets of elite selections of F. virginiana and F. chiloensis in Minnesota and Ontario. In Minnesota, family means varied considerably for all traits except ovule set. For all other traits, general combining ability was significant for at least one species, while specific combining ability was significant for only spring bloom date. In Ontario, general combining ability was significant for all traits in at least one species except flower number. Just as they were in previous crosses with F. x ananassa cultivars, the F. virginiana parents High Falls 22 and Montreal River 10 were notable for producing offspring with large fruit and high fertility. Fragaria chiloensis parents exhibited strong combining ability effects for short day-induced flowering and suppressed the expression of day-neutral flowering in these progeny compared to progeny of these F. virginiana in previous crosses with F. x ananassa. These results indicate that substantial breeding progress can be made by reconstructing F. x ananassa if care is taken to select elite, complementary genotypes of F. virginiana and F. chiloensis.