In spite of the great importance of runners in the formation of new strawberry fields, little importance has been given to experimental studies of this phase of the crop. There were evaluated seven strawberry cultivars in the stage of runner production, during two different collection dates under field conditions, in Piracicaba, Brazil. The experimental design was completely randomized with 14 treatments and 4 replications, using a factorial scheme of 7 x 2. The variables were the cultivars (Campinas IAC-2712, IAC Princesa Isabel, Chandler, Dover, Pajaro, Toyonoka and Korona) and the dates of runner collection (14/031997;15/04/1997). The runners were considered according to four categories: Extra, First, Second, Discarded. The number of runners produced in one square meter was also evaluated. Significant differences were found for the number of runners produced per square meter for the different cultivars. Dover and Campinas produced higher number as compared to cultivars Korona, Chandler, Princesa Isabel, Toyonoka and Pajaro, independently of the collection date. The quality of the runners collected in the second date (15/04/1997) was better in relation to those collected in the first date (14/03/1997), independently of the cultivar.
Fragariax x ananassa Duch.; quality; quantity
