This is a final research report from Hort Innovation’s historical archives. Please note that as these reports may date back as far as the 1990s, the content and recommendations within them may be superseded by more recent research.

What was it all about?

This project tested and improved strawberry breeding lines for Western Australian conditions by evaluating new seedlings under local growing environments. It identified useful traits in new material—particularly from northern breeding lines—but did not deliver any new commercial varieties due to ongoing challenges with plant performance and survival.

The project grew and assessed thousands of strawberry seedlings sourced from national breeding programs in Queensland and Victoria. Seed was germinated in South Perth and planted at Wanneroo for field evaluation. Each season, plants were assessed for yield, fruit quality, flavour, firmness, disease tolerance and plant vigour. Promising lines were selected and carried forward for further testing, while poor performers were removed. Trials also compared how different breeding lines performed under Western Australia’s climate and growing systems.