A new strawberry variety grown in Spain has been unveiled by BerryWorld this week.
The exclusive variety, named Viva Patricia, is the first from the Edward Vinson Breeding Programme to be bred in Spain, specifically for the UK market.
The berry, which is orange-red in colour with a sweet taste, has a good skin firmness and shelf life, but is not overly firm in texture.
It is available from January to May, exclusively through BerryWorld growers.
The first fruit arrived in the UK in February in line with the late start of the Spanish season this year, caused by weather problems in January.
But volumes are now picking up and BerryWorld estimates that it will have around 200 tonnes this year.
BerryWorld’s technical director Tim Newton said: “We now need to gain production experience to get the very best from the variety. We will assess its performance on a commercial scale against other varieties available at the same time. How much of the Sabrosa crop is replaced with Viva over the coming years will depend on how this year's trials perform. Viva has had higher sugar levels than Sabrosa, which is delivering a good eating experience. It also looks as if it will produce more fruit in the next month than Sabrosa planted in the same field, which is positive when Sabrosa is struggling to keep up with demand.”
The new berry has been named after the daughter of Vicente Domingo, who is the manager of Peter Vinson’s breeding site in Spain, and the word ‘viva’, meaning life.
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