The inheritance of vegetative growth traits in strawberries (Fragaria x ananassa) grown at low temperatures and their relationship to field productivity

The genetic relationship between vegetative growth at low temperatures and productivity was investigated for strawberries grown in controlled and field environments. Genotypes from 20 biparental crosses were grown in controlled environments with 11°, 14°, and 17 °C days, 11 °C nights, and 11-h daylength to simulate a range of winter growing conditions expected in mediterranean environments. Individual plants were scored for two initial runner traits and eight vegetative growth traits. Significant main effects of temperature and cross were detected for all growth chamber traits, and conservative estimates of the broad sense heritability (h²) for these traits were 0.10–0.28. None of the temperature x cross interaction effects were significant, suggesting that genetic potential for vegetative growth and vigor is expressed similarly at low and optimal growing temperatures. Highly significant genetic correlations were detected between many growth chamber trait pairs, indicating pleiotropic effects for the genes that condition these traits. Complementary field trials were established, and individual plants were scored for traits that describe yield, production pattern, and plant size. Significant negative genetic correlations were detected between traits that describe growth in the chambers and early production in the field trials, but genetic correlations between chamber growth traits and mid-season or total production were significantly positive and occasionally large. Several of the yield and field growth variables were genetically correlated to initial runner plant traits, suggesting that indirect selection using traits scored in the nursery can be used to improve yield and modify production pattern in the field.