Red Jewel Nursery - Variety Descriptions

To access our 2012 variety information sheet which summarizes the below varieties, please click here or click on the links below to move to your area of interest. Please contact Elise Pike 0429 841 133 for more variety information.

2012 Commercial Varieties

2012 Trial Varieties

Frigo (Frozen Plant) Varieties

2012 Commercial Varieties

Festival
Festival is currently the main variety grown in Queensland. It was bred by Craig Chandler, University of Florida. Fruit production commences early and continues throughout the season. Flesh is bright red with good flavour. Fruit are firm, deep red, attractive and conical shape. Fruit are well displayed on long stems, and easily harvested. A few smalls may occur. Produces very few misshapen or unmarketable fruit. An easy variety to pack. Performs well under a range of weather conditions and has again shown very good resistance to rain this season. In order to maintain highly acceptable fruit, Festival should be picked when red only. Runner production can be high in the fruiting field if planted too early

Florida Fortuna
Florida Fortuna (Fortuna), known as Radiance in the USA, was commercially planted in Australia in the 2010 season. It has gained popularity amongst growers due to its large aromatic fruit and high, steady production. With similar characteristics to Festival, Fortuna complements Festival plantings by usually producing earlier in comparison and whilst Festival fruit is known to reduce in size later in July, Fortuna fruit often maintains L to XL sized fruit. Fortuna will not produce as many runners in the fruiting field compared to Festival. Fortuna runners are thin and weak by nature and in order to produce well through the season, the runners must be heavily fertilised for the first three to four weeks after planting to establish a vigorous plant. Due to being naturally susceptible to Phytophora, Fortuna should be planted into fumigated ground and treated with registered chemicals as per the product labels. 2012 plant availability dates are to be confirmed at the conclusion of 2011 planting date trials. Caution should be taken with early plantings, as immature runners often do not survive transplanting.

DPI Rubygem -
A Queensland bred variety, QHI Rubygem fruit production commences early, and continues throughout the season maintaining health well. Fruit are attractive, moderately dark red, glossy, short conical to slightly wedged, XL sized (20g) firm and resilient. Flesh is dark red, of medium acidity, and consistently good flavour. Amongst consumer panels, QHI Rubygem often ranks highly and is therefore often preferred by buyers. Fruit are well displayed and easily harvested. Calyx is quite large and distinctive. Under the wet conditions, QHI Rubygem generally does not perform well. QHI Rubygem is often grown alongside Festival to provide early production. QHI Rubygem will be one of the earliest varieties harvested from the nursery once harvest begins.

Sabrosa
A short day variety producing very attractive, bright red and conical shaped fruit, however some fruit may display white shoulders. It maintains good size throughout the harvest with little size or shape variation. Flesh is firm, red and aromatic with high sugar levels and good balance producing an intense flavour. Sabrosa is a naturally vigorous variety with a good root system resistant to many soil pathogens which adapts well to a range of soil types, therefore nutrition should be kept to a minimum. This variety is a late producer and best suited to planting around the same time as Camarosa. Sabrosa has gained a significant part of the European market since release in 2004. This variety is known as Candonga in European countries. Sabrosa is currently being trialled in Western states as the Mediterranean background of this variety can be compared to that in the Perth growing areas. Sabrosa may be suited to drier climates as rainfall can affect the fruit quality.

Aussiegem (previously 2006-019)
This variety is a distinct compact plant with dark green foliage. Previous trials showed production occurred one week earlier than Festival when planted at the same time. This variety may be suited to planting time similar to Rubygem. It has a consistent production of large wide broad shouldered fruit, up to XXL in size. Aussiegem produces very few runners which is beneficial to fruit producers, however can cause issues with supply at the nursery level. Aussiegem does suffer from fruit losses during wet weather, therefore does prefer drier climates or protected production. Trials so far have suggested that this variety may benefit from a low nitrogen fertiliser program. Observations suggest that this variety may be susceptible to Colletochricum and therefore should be planted on fumigated ground and may benefit from early fungicide applications in the fruit production field.

Suncoast Delight (previously 2006-475)

Suncoast Delight has been on trial for the 2010 season. It has shown to be a distinct vigorous upright plant with the flowers emerging through the top of the foliage. Suncoast Delight has been quite an early and consistent producer of large conical shaped fruit. The fruit quality in terms of colouring appears to be at its best in warmer climates. During colder periods the fruit can hold white shoulders, however if left too long on the plant, the colour can turn quite dark. As an early producer, Suncoast Delight will be available early in the harvest season for 2012 for growers wanting to trial the variety for early markets. Due to recently being a trial variety, Suncoast Delight numbers are still limited for nursery supply; growers who may have order availability affected will be consulted as early as possible.

2012 Trial Varieties

Image not available	SweetEve An English bred day neutral variety that fruit with high sugar levels. This variety does not have very high weather tolerance so would suit covered production and possibly Frigo plantings.
Image not available	Eve’s Delight A variety from the same program as Sweet Eve. This day neutral variety produces quite large, good flavoured fruit, as with Sweet Eve it too has low weather tolerance so would also suit covered production and perhaps Frigo plantings.
Image not available	Viva Patricia pending. A short day variety that has produced well in Mediterranean climates. This plant is quite vigorous so should require a limited nutrition program. This variety produces large fruit and has a similar production time to Camarosa.
Image not available	LCN16F29. A new day neutral type variety from the Lassen Canyon breeding program in California, marketed as Sweet Ann in the USA. A small amount of material was placed for trial in 2011 in Australian southern states, however production will not be seen until the end of the year. This variety is thought to be suited to summer production areas, as in California it has shown to be highly productive with generally conical fruit of good flavour. The plant itself should be vigorous with minimal runners produced in the fruiting field.
	Redgem ( previously 2006-215) Redgem is a distinct tight upright plant with “frilly” leaves. In previous trials, it produced up to two weeks earlier than Festival. This variety may be suited a planting time similar to Rubygem. Fruit produced by this variety is typically a conical shape, generally L to XL in size. It has a taste similar to Festival, however is slightly below Festival standards in firmness and rain tolerance.
	Sunblushgem (previously 2005-188) Sunblushgem was one of the best performers in previous trials conducted. It has produced highly and consistently, and has uniform conical shaped fruit. This variety is known for its good flavour and aromatic fruit. Packers often comment on the ease of packing this fruit due to its consistent shape. 2005-188 may be suited to a planting time similar to Rubygem. The only unfavourable characteristic that this variety has shown in previous trials is that fruit produced can at times be smaller than that of other varieties.

Frigo Varieties

The practice of using “Frigo” or cold-stored plants has not been effectively trialled in Australia to date, in part, due to the lack of suitable varieties. The use of Frigo plants involves planting dormant frozen plants that have been stored at sub zero temperatures for a number of months. This practice allows greater flexibility in planting times and therefore fruit production seasons. The varieties best suited to this practice are strong day neutral or ever-bearer varieties. These cultivars are supplied as a frozen, dormant, multiple crowned plant that is planted and often deblossomed for the first month to promote establishment. Established plants should then begin to fruit reasonably heavy within the first 60 to 90 days following planting. The fruit production window is short but intense. Red Jewel Nursery has some varieties available that are used for this purpose in other countries. Some of these lines are in 2010 trials on commercial properties, but we planted as a fresh bare root runner, which would alter the performance of the variety. Please contact the office or Elise if you wish to Frigo plants

Darselect

A day neutral type variety that was trialled during the 2010 season for the first time in Australia. This variety has consistently produced high flavoured fruit. Darselect does show some susceptibility to weather conditions and at times produces some smaller fruit. This variety may be suited to experimental production systems or planted as a dormant plant for fruit production in non-traditional production times for growers looking to extend seasons in local market or tourist operations where consumer acceptance is important.

Image not available

Cristal

A quite vigorous variety that produces large conical fruit. Extended heavy cropping will cause a decrease in fruit size, therefore small flowers should be removed to promote larger fruit sizes.

© Red Jewel Qld Pty Ltd trading as Red Jewel Nursery 2011. Copyright protects this work. Except as permitted by the Copyright Act 1968 (Cth), reproduction by any means (photocopying, electronic, mechanical, recording or otherwise), making available online, electronic transmission or other publication of this work is prohibited without the prior written approval of Red Jewel Qld Pty Ltd trading as Red Jewel Nursery. Inquiries: admin@redjewel.com.au or Ph: +61 7 4684 1133 or Red Jewel Nursery, 744 Emu Swamp Road, BALLANDEAN QLD 4382.

	Festival Festival is currently the main variety grown in Queensland. It was bred by Craig Chandler, University of Florida. Fruit production commences early and continues throughout the season. Flesh is bright red with good flavour. Fruit are firm, deep red, attractive and conical shape. Fruit are well displayed on long stems, and easily harvested. A few smalls may occur. Produces very few misshapen or unmarketable fruit. An easy variety to pack. Performs well under a range of weather conditions and has again shown very good resistance to rain this season. In order to maintain highly acceptable fruit, Festival should be picked when red only. Runner production can be high in the fruiting field if planted too early
	Florida Fortuna Florida Fortuna (Fortuna), known as Radiance in the USA, was commercially planted in Australia in the 2010 season. It has gained popularity amongst growers due to its large aromatic fruit and high, steady production. With similar characteristics to Festival, Fortuna complements Festival plantings by usually producing earlier in comparison and whilst Festival fruit is known to reduce in size later in July, Fortuna fruit often maintains L to XL sized fruit. Fortuna will not produce as many runners in the fruiting field compared to Festival. Fortuna runners are thin and weak by nature and in order to produce well through the season, the runners must be heavily fertilised for the first three to four weeks after planting to establish a vigorous plant. Due to being naturally susceptible to Phytophora, Fortuna should be planted into fumigated ground and treated with registered chemicals as per the product labels. 2012 plant availability dates are to be confirmed at the conclusion of 2011 planting date trials. Caution should be taken with early plantings, as immature runners often do not survive transplanting.
	DPI Rubygem - A Queensland bred variety, QHI Rubygem fruit production commences early, and continues throughout the season maintaining health well. Fruit are attractive, moderately dark red, glossy, short conical to slightly wedged, XL sized (20g) firm and resilient. Flesh is dark red, of medium acidity, and consistently good flavour. Amongst consumer panels, QHI Rubygem often ranks highly and is therefore often preferred by buyers. Fruit are well displayed and easily harvested. Calyx is quite large and distinctive. Under the wet conditions, QHI Rubygem generally does not perform well. QHI Rubygem is often grown alongside Festival to provide early production. QHI Rubygem will be one of the earliest varieties harvested from the nursery once harvest begins.
	Sabrosa A short day variety producing very attractive, bright red and conical shaped fruit, however some fruit may display white shoulders. It maintains good size throughout the harvest with little size or shape variation. Flesh is firm, red and aromatic with high sugar levels and good balance producing an intense flavour. Sabrosa is a naturally vigorous variety with a good root system resistant to many soil pathogens which adapts well to a range of soil types, therefore nutrition should be kept to a minimum. This variety is a late producer and best suited to planting around the same time as Camarosa. Sabrosa has gained a significant part of the European market since release in 2004. This variety is known as Candonga in European countries. Sabrosa is currently being trialled in Western states as the Mediterranean background of this variety can be compared to that in the Perth growing areas. Sabrosa may be suited to drier climates as rainfall can affect the fruit quality.
	Aussiegem (previously 2006-019) This variety is a distinct compact plant with dark green foliage. Previous trials showed production occurred one week earlier than Festival when planted at the same time. This variety may be suited to planting time similar to Rubygem. It has a consistent production of large wide broad shouldered fruit, up to XXL in size. Aussiegem produces very few runners which is beneficial to fruit producers, however can cause issues with supply at the nursery level. Aussiegem does suffer from fruit losses during wet weather, therefore does prefer drier climates or protected production. Trials so far have suggested that this variety may benefit from a low nitrogen fertiliser program. Observations suggest that this variety may be susceptible to Colletochricum and therefore should be planted on fumigated ground and may benefit from early fungicide applications in the fruit production field.
	Suncoast Delight (previously 2006-475) Suncoast Delight has been on trial for the 2010 season. It has shown to be a distinct vigorous upright plant with the flowers emerging through the top of the foliage. Suncoast Delight has been quite an early and consistent producer of large conical shaped fruit. The fruit quality in terms of colouring appears to be at its best in warmer climates. During colder periods the fruit can hold white shoulders, however if left too long on the plant, the colour can turn quite dark. As an early producer, Suncoast Delight will be available early in the harvest season for 2012 for growers wanting to trial the variety for early markets. Due to recently being a trial variety, Suncoast Delight numbers are still limited for nursery supply; growers who may have order availability affected will be consulted as early as possible.