- PROJECT NAME
- Australian Strawberry Breeding Program
- PROJECT CODE
- BS22000
- DELIVERY PARTNER
- The Queensland Department of Agriculture and Fisheries
- PROJECT LEAD
- Jodi Neal
jodi.neal@daf.qld.gov.au | 07 5381 1352
PROJECT DESCRIPTION
This investment continues the development and commercial release of superior strawberry varieties for Australian environments, including temperate, subtropical and Mediterranean-growing regions. By ensuring that the Australian strawberry industry has access to improved, locally adapted strawberry varieties, this project supports a sustainable and profitable national strawberry industry.
The research team will build upon the successful pipeline developed in the previous iteration of the project National strawberry varietal improvement program (BS17000). The approach will be enhanced by incorporating genomic prediction and marker assisted selection methodologies. New and established germplasm exchange arrangements will ensure the program has access to the best international selections in addition to the superior material currently maintained by the DAFQ breeding team.
The Australian national strawberry industry has an estimated farm gate value of $417 million (2021/22 Australian Horticulture Statistics Handbook). Varieties developed by the Australian Strawberry Breeding Program currently capture 45 per cent of the national market and 90 per cent of the subtropical industry. These varieties currently provide approximately 11,000 jobs in production alone in Australia and are estimated to have a farm gate value of approximately $174 million last year.
Updates on this project are published twice per year in the Australian Berry Journal which can be read online or you can search the Resource Library for more information.
USEFUL LINKS
The project is managed from the Maroochy Research Facility at Nambour in south-east Queensland – FIND OUT MORE
Here are some of the previous projects looking into breeding in Strawberries:
DNA-marker development for flavour compounds in strawberry (BS12006) – RMIT University
National strawberry varietal improvement program (BS12021) – QDAF
Developing improved strawberry germplasm management and runner quality (BS09024) – QDAF
BS17000 National strawberry varietal improvement program – QDAF
Varieties released from the Breeding Programs have been commercialised and are available through Australasian Plant Genetics from a number of Licensed Nurseries.