Fronteras Strawberry Cultivar Merging Early Fruiting and Large Fruit
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current strawberry cultivars lack a combination of high productivity, early fruiting, large and high-quality fruit, and moderate plant vigor, especially in arid subtropical climates, and have varying resistance to diseases and pests.
Innovation Solution
The development of the 'Fronteras' strawberry cultivar, which is a short-day type resulting from a cross between Cal 4.18-4 and Cal 5.165-1, offering improved productivity, fruit quality, and plant size, with specific characteristics such as larger, darker, and more conical fruit, and moderate resistance to several diseases and pests.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If existing strawberry cultivars are used, then they have moderate plant vigor, but they lack a combination of high productivity, early fruiting, large and high-quality fruit
Solution Approach 1:
The patent combines multiple desirable traits from two different parent cultivars into a single new cultivar 'Fronteras'. The first parent contributes early productivity and large high-quality fruit, while the second parent contributes vigorous open plant habit and extended productivity. The resulting cultivar merges these traits to achieve high productivity, early fruiting, large fruit, and moderate plant vigor simultaneously
2Loss of time
If strawberry cultivars are developed for early fruiting, then they produce fruit earlier, but they may have reduced fruit size or quality
Solution Approach 1:
The new cultivar 'Fronteras' merges the early fruiting trait from one parent with the large high-quality fruit trait from the other parent, achieving both early season fruit production (November in California) and excellent fruit quality with large size and good flavor
3Volume of moving object
If strawberry cultivars are developed for large fruit size, then they produce larger fruit, but they may have reduced productivity or plant vigor
Solution Approach 1:
The cultivar combines the large fruit size trait with high productivity trait from different parents, resulting in a cultivar that produces both large individual fruits and high overall yields through vigorous plant habit and extended productivity
Solution Approach 2:
The patent achieves large fruit size at the local level (individual fruit) while maintaining high overall productivity through the plant's vigorous habit and extended fruiting period, allowing different parts of the plant to express different qualities optimally
4Duration of action of stationary object
If strawberry cultivars are developed for vigorous plant habit, then they have open plant habit and extended productivity, but they may have later production timing
Solution Approach 1:
The new cultivar merges the extended productivity trait from the vigorous parent with the early fruiting trait from the other parent, achieving both early season initiation of fruit production and extended productivity duration throughout the season
Data Source
AI summary
‘Fronteras’ is a short-day (June bearing) cultivar similar to ‘Camarosa’ (U.S. Plant Pat. No. 8,708), but with greater productivity, higher quality fruit, and earlier production; it is similar to ‘Ventana’ (U.S. Plant Pat. No. 13,469) and ‘Benicia’ (U.S. Plant Pat. No. 22,542), but with somewhat later production, a larger plant, larger fruit size, and higher quality fruit.