A ‘Stella’ day for strawberry growers and lovers

A new high-yielding, disease-resistant and sweet-flavoured strawberry has hit the nation’s retail shelves after more than five years of development by Aussie growers and plant breeding experts.

Perfected through trials on grower’s farms in Queensland and delivered through Hort Innovation in partnership with the Department of of Agriculture and Fisheries (DAF), the Stella-ASBP variety is available in every state and territory of Australia.

Hort Innovation industry service and delivery general manager, Andrew Francey, said the release of Stella-ASBP will be particularly well received by growers and the broader industry.

“This new variety, developed closely with Australian growers, offers consumers a consistently sweet flavour, aroma, mouthfeel and bright red appearance,” he said. “Stella-ASBP also delivers a boost to production efficiency because of the abundant fruit Stella-ASBP plants are naturally-bred to produce.”

Mr Francey said the variety is one of 17 that have been delivered through Hort Innovation using industry levies and funds from the Australian Government, and the organisation’s partnership with DAF. The breeding program accounts for more than 50 per cent of the varieties grown nationally and 85 per cent of varieties grown in Queensland.

Berries Australia chief executive officer Rachel Mackenzie said industry has been unwavering in its support of the breeding program, which is strawberry growers’ single biggest investment over recent years.

“It is an understatement to say our sub-tropical strawberry growers are delighted with Stella-ASBP,” she said. “The industry has played a critical role in working alongside breeding experts and supporting consumer preference testing to see this latest variety realised. Consumers are going to love it.”

Ms Mackenzie said, critically, Stella-ASBP is also resistant to red leaf disorder, a debilitating condition that impacts plant health and yield.

DAF principal plant breeder Dr Jodi Neal said the Australian Strawberry Breeding Program had a tradition of naming its new varieties after accomplished, talented, and remarkable Australians, such as Olympic athletes Susie O’Neill and Tahli Gill, and Stella is no exception.

“Through this variety, we are extremely pleased to be able to pay tribute to the late Australian comedian, journalist and disability rights activist Stella Young and her legacy,” she said.

“Stella Young was fierce and funny. She stood up for people whose bodies looked different or performed differently. She was a voice for people living with disabilities, and what she had to say is important for everyone to hear.”

According to Hort Innovation’s latest Australian Horticulture Statistics Handbook, growers produced almost 66,000 tonnes of strawberries in 2022/23, valued at more than $429 million.

Grown in every State, strawberries were purchased by 72 per cent of Australian households in 2002/23, with a per capita consumption of 2.27 kilograms.