Strawberry, a small plant of the rose family, is grown for its tasty heart-shaped fruit. Strawberry plants grow close to the ground and produce small, white flowers that have a pleasant odor. The fruit is greenish white at first and ripens to a bright red. It is a good source of vitamin C and is often eaten fresh. Strawberries are also canned or frozen or used in making jam, jelly, and wine.
Hand picking strawberries
Botanists do not classify the strawberry as a true berry. True berries, such as blueberries and cranberries, have seeds within their fleshy tissue. The fleshy part of the strawberry is covered with dry, yellow “seeds,” each of which is actually a separate fruit.
Strawberry plants have short roots and long, slender stems called runners that grow along the surface of the soil. Leaves grow from the stem, and each leaf has three sections, or leaflets. The fruit seems to be strewn (scattered) among the leaves, and this may be why the plant was first called strewberry. It later came to be called strawberry.
Strawberries grow wild or are raised commercially in almost every country. Plant breeders have developed hundreds of varieties of strawberries that are suited for different growing conditions. Varieties that are raised in the United States include the Tribute, Tristar, Earliglow, Honeoye, Kent, and Chandler. California produces about three-fourths of the strawberries grown in the United States. Other leading strawberry states include, in order of production, Florida, Oregon, Michigan, and Washington.
Strawberries grow best in a cool, moist climate and in many kinds of soil. They are usually planted in fall or spring and may produce fruit the first year. The plants reproduce by means of their runners. Roots extend from the runners into the soil and produce new plants. The harvesting season varies, depending on the climate and the type of strawberry. Some types, called everbearing, produce fruit through the summer and fall. In most states, strawberries are produced from May or June to September or November. In California and Florida, strawberries also are produced during the winter months. Most strawberry plants bear fruit for five or six years, but the best crops grow during the first year or two.
Many gardeners raise strawberries because the fruit grows so easily. Several scientific advances have led to increased commercial strawberry production. For example, plant breeders have developed varieties suited to specific climates. Researchers also have found various methods to control the major diseases and insects that attack strawberries. In addition, many commercial growers use mechanical equipment to plant and harvest strawberries more efficiently. Some growers use large greenhouses to control the environment and improve production.
Wild strawberries were grown in ancient Rome. During the 1700’s, a hybrid variety was developed in France by breeding wild strawberries brought from North America with others from Chile. The first important American variety, the Hovey, was grown in 1834 in Massachusetts.
