Florida Strawberry Growers Hold up Strong After the Hurricanes

Hurricanes Helene and Milton both delivered big blows to Florida — within two weeks of each other. The state’s agriculture sector has been affected. The damage is more apparent in some segments. For others, overall impacts are still unfolding. However, news for the state’s strawberry industry is positive after the storms.

According to Kenneth Parker, Executive Director of the Florida Strawberry Growers Association, production is still on track to meet seasonal consumer demands. “As a general rule of thumb, Florida growers aim to complete planting each year around the first of November,” he says. “For the most part, the industry has held to this standard.”

After the storms, some areas required more effort to get the fields back in working order to complete planting. Most of this was due to flooding. Coincidentally, some growers are now planting two new UF/IFAS strawberry varieties (‘Ember’ and ‘Encore’) that resist phytophthora root rot, a disease that plants can get from too much moisture in the soil.

Developed by UF/IFAS Professor Vance Whitaker, ‘Ember’ and ‘Encore’ could prove fruitful for growers given the volume of rainfall received from the storms and moisture retained in the soil.

“Some plants experienced a lot of water,” Whitaker says. “The flooding is most likely to kill a plant that’s susceptible to root diseases. So, these new varieties should help growers maintain their yield as well as provide a new level of fruit quality.”

According to UF/IFAS,  the two new strawberry varieties make up about 10% of the 14,000 acres of strawberries in Florida. This is in their first year of commercial use.

Whitaker expects those figures to rise in future years. “We have a favorable weather outlook for the harvesting season,” he says. “People should expect a typical Florida strawberry season.”

For more information about the strawberry plant breeding program at UF/IFAS, click here.