Kentucky strawberry lovers may be able to buy locally grown berries as early as May, thanks to a new variety that is showing great potential for commercial growers. University of Kentucky College of Agriculture, Food and Environment horticulture specialists regularly perform variety trials on a number of crops to see what works best for the state’s growers, climate and consumer tastes.
“Strawberry variety performance is quite variable across the United States and varieties need to be evaluated under local conditions,” said John Strang, UKAg horticulture specialist. “Flavorfest is a strawberry variety we’ve been testing with some success.”
Shawn Wright, UKAg horticulture specialist, included Flavorfest for the past three years in plasticulture strawberry variety trials at the UK Horticulture Research Farm in Lexington. With funding from a Kentucky Department of Agriculture Specialty Crop Block Grant, Wright was able to see how the variety performed compared to popular varieties such as Chandler and Camerosa.
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