EVALUATION OF LOW-TEMPERATURE HARDINESS OF STRAWBERRY PLANTS UNDER FIELD AND CONTROLLED CONDITIONS

When acclimated strawberry plants (Fragaria x ananassa Duch. 'Redcoat' ) from the field were placed in a programmable freezer, mother strawbe rry crowns were as hardy or hardier than daughter crowns when frozen t o -11-degrees-C. However, under field conditions, daughter plants expr essed consistently greater hardiness than mother plants. Mulching had no effect on daughter plant survival, whereas enhanced mother plant su rvival was observed. Field-growth habit of mother crowns may be the im portant factor for consistent winter survival under prairie conditions . A simple scoring system was developed to predict survival of strawbe rry plants.