Davidsonia, Vol 14 (1): 5-11. Figures: 1-5. Author: Hugh Daubeny, Emeritus Research Scientist, Pacific Agriculture Research Centre, Agassiz, BC Abstract: The cultivated strawberry, Fragaria × ananassa, originated in the 18th century from a cross of a selection of Fragaria chiloensis, from Chile, with a selection of Fragaria virginiana, from Virginia. Since then, other selections from each species have been used to breed improved cultivars. However, none of these contains genes of Fragaria chiloensis native to British Columbia (BC). During the 1980s, approximately two thousand selections of the species were collected from 123 sites in the province. A selection from each site was evaluated from reactions to several important strawberry diseases or pests. A selection showing multiple resistances was crossed with 'Totem', the leading Pacific Northwest cultivar; subsequently, a selection from this was crossed with 'Elsanta', the leading European cultivar. After two generations, there is at least one selection that approaches modern day cultivar standards and appears to have resistances approaching those of the Fragaria chiloensis selection. This indicates the value of the collection which represents only a miniscule amount of the diversity of the native Fragaria chiloensis of BC.
