LEXINGTON, Ky. — As many parts of the country are coming out of a winter that set records for low temperatures and snowfall, a little taste of springtime would be welcome. That makes the news of a promising new variety of strawberry even sweeter for the many local fruit lovers.

University of Kentucky (UK) College of Agriculture, Food and Environment horticulture specialists think this new variety holds great potential for state commercial growers.

“Strawberry variety performance is quite variable across the United States and varieties need to be evaluated under local conditions,” said John Strang. “Flavorfest is a strawberry variety we’ve been testing with some success.”

UK has been conducting research over the last three years to find a strawberry variety that grows well in this region. The research looked at three varieties including Flavorfest, Chandler and Camerosa. Shawn Wright is a horticulture specialist who looked at how the Flavorfest variety compared to the other two more popular varieties.

“The Flavorfest variety was developed at the USDA-ARS (Agricultural Research Service) station in Beltsville, Maryland,” Wright said. “In last year’s trial, it produced 14,346 pounds to the acre, which was statistically the same as our currently recommended variety of Chandler at 14,445 pounds to the acre.”

While Chandler and Camerosa varieties are more common in Kentucky, Camerosa is a firmer berry more suited for shipping longer distances. The Flavorfest has decent disease and pest resistance, something important here because East Coast growers have more problems with disease, according to Strang.

But another big advantage to this new variety is many think the berry tastes better than the more popular varieties. For local producers, who grow strawberries in either in a more traditional way like a matted row system or a newer plasticulture system, the taste is what counts since the berries don’t have to be shipped over long distances.

One reason for that improved taste is local berries have higher sugar content than berries picked before their peak, as is the case for those produced in California, for example. Strang said those long-distance strawberries will gain color after picked, but not any more sugar content.

The number of strawberry growers in Kentucky is increasing, as is the demand for more locally grown food.

Tim Woods, a UK ag economist and extension professor, said there are more strawberries being marketed all the time.

“Many of our on-farm retail markets use strawberries as a big draw to the market in the spring,” he said. “We’re even seeing strawberries move into programs like Farm to School.”

Woods also said producers at on-farm U-pick operations and farmers’ markets do a lot of sampling to customers so they may see firsthand the difference between fresh berries and those that come from other places. He pointed out the strawberry business, at least in these direct market venues, is likely to continue a growth pattern.

“I see a lot of growth particularly in connection with a lot of our direct markets,” he said. “The closer you can pick them to maturity, the better, so it’s going to be at the farmers’ markets, the on-farm retail markets, direct-to-restaurants and through the CSAs (community supported agriculture shares).”

Woods said the strawberry serves as the “flagship” fruit that really kicks off the farmers’ market season. A benefit of the Flavorfest variety is that the berries are usually ready in early May as opposed to late May or June for other berry varieties.

“Growers can demand a higher price for a locally produced berry that is ready to go earlier than June, when most people are used to seeing an abundance of berries at the market,” said Wright. “And that’s good, because it does cost a bit more to grow in an annual growing system like plasticuture.

“We would have to grow it for a few more years to see where it really falls in the calendar, but for someone who wants a traditional-tasting strawberry that is very attractive and has good size, this is it.”