Strawberry variety Sensation

Sensation - a non-repairing variety of garden strawberries (strawberries) with a short daylight hours, an average ripening period. It was withdrawn quite recently, it appeared on the market just a couple of years ago. Originated by Dutch company Flevo Berry B.V., this strawberry is the first medium-ripening variety produced by the Flevo Berry program. The original name of the variety sounds like Sunsation, in which breeders tried to combine two words - "sun", which means the sun, and "sensation" - a sensation. But, unfortunately, the name "Sunsation" was already assigned to the brand of another company, like "Sensation", because of which the originators had to change the name of their brainchild to Sonsation. Thus, in the Russian-language version it is more correct to call this strawberry Sonsation, however, the name Sensation has stuck more among the people. By the way, there is another variety with the same name, but it was bred in the USA and is completely different in its characteristics from the plants described in this article. Currently, our heroine is positioned as one of the most promising for growing for commercial purposes, and for a simple summer resident she is very attractive. Equally well suited for cultivation both indoors and outdoors, it can also be grown in an ampelous version, although some other varieties are still better suited for such purposes, for example Elan.

The plant is quite tall, vigorous, erect, medium spreading, well leafy. In general, the bushes are quite compact, they will not take up much space in the garden. Usulation is moderate. Leaves of medium size, bright green, corrugated, with medium sharp teeth. The flowers are bisexual, white, with very high-quality pollen, which has an extremely positive effect on pollination, and as a result, on the amount of the crop and its consumer characteristics. Peduncles are long, located at the level of the leaves, and lie on the ground under the weight of the fruit. Strawberries form a fairly large number of multi-primordial peduncles, compared to other varieties it looks very attractive - the bush is literally strewn with berries.

The fruits of the Sensation are very beautiful, as in the picture, of a rounded-conical shape tending to a heart-shaped one; at the first harvest, the largest specimens may be slightly comb-shaped. In general, the berries are very homogeneous, as for selection, there is a high percentage of first-class fruits, at the level of reference varieties, and sometimes even higher. The skin is bright red, sometimes with an orange or pink tint, shiny, relatively strong, although thin. Achenes are small, superficial, yellow in color, and can turn red. The pulp is firm, but not firm, juicy, with a pleasant tender and fleshy texture, light pink, very aromatic.

In general, this strawberry belongs to the category of varieties with medium-dense pulp, but this does not affect its excellent transportability in any way. On the other hand, according to gardeners and farmers, the Sensation is more suitable for growing in low-volume production in order to sell fresh produce to the nearest market, but for an industrial scale it is most likely not suitable. So far, the variety is quite young and is currently undergoing trials, so it cannot be said for sure how suitable it is for cultivation on large-scale plantations. But for gardeners, our heroine is very attractive, since against the background of other commercial varieties it looks more profitable due to the medium-dense pulp.

Strawberry tastes great. The berries are very sweet, but not sugary, with a true strawberry flavor. Gardeners highly appreciated the consumer qualities of Sensation, placing it at the top of the list of favorites, especially among other commercial varieties. In her mid-season category, our heroine can rightfully be considered one of the most delicious.According to the tasters of the German company Kraege, the taste of the variety is worthy of an assessment of 5.5-6 points on a nine-point scale, but many gardeners would gladly give it all 9 points. The same company also evaluated the suitability of the fruit for storage, the verdict was 5.8-6.3 points, which is quite good for strawberries with medium-dense pulp.

Berries are versatile in use, especially great fresh and as a decoration for desserts and other culinary delights. They are also great for any processing, great for freezing. We have already discussed the sale of the crop to the market, but I would like to note a few more points. The sensation is indeed very promising for commercial cultivation, the berries are very spectacular, uniform, and will certainly attract the attention of the buyer. According to many farmers and summer residents, the variety is a very striking replacement for the "old" mid-season varieties that are firmly rooted in the list of favorites. And the entrepreneurs came to this conclusion not only because of the consumer characteristics of strawberries.

The average weight of berries in the season is 25-35 grams; during the first harvest, specimens weighing more than 50 grams are observed. In general, the fruits are very one-dimensional, fruiting is stable, the berries are not inclined to become smaller by the end of the season, but this can occur with insufficient plant nutrition and generally illiterate care. The variety is high yielding, according to preliminary estimates, it shows results 20% higher than the reference Elsanta and Sonata... Thus, we are talking about indicators of more than 1 kg of berries per plant. In general, the Sensation belongs to the group of varieties of the intensive type, therefore its potential is quite high, but, due to the young age of our heroine, there are very few real data. The only thing that those who have already experienced this strawberry on their site are sure of is that it clearly bypasses many other mid-season varieties in terms of yield, which have already firmly established themselves in the list of favorites. And if it does not bypass, then it is clearly not inferior.

Although the Sensation is declared as a mid-season, in its homeland and in the southern regions it rather behaves like a mid-early one, which opens up even greater prospects for it - in the segment of mid-early and early varieties, the competition is not so great, at least among the new products in the assortment. Ripening begins around early to mid June, depending on the climatic conditions of the region. The training camps are held on a tight schedule and are quite fruitful. By the way, one of the very big advantages of the variety in commercial terms is that the berries are clearly visible, which speeds up the collection, and this is important in production areas.

Strawberries have good immunity, are not affected by diseases more often than other varieties, and are especially resistant to rot. The sensation is quite susceptible to late blight, so special attention should be paid to the prevention of this particular disease, especially in areas where it is most common. In general, since the variety is commercial, and even of an intensive type, it is extremely important to take all the necessary measures for the prevention of diseases and protection from pests in a timely manner if you want to get maximum productivity from the plants. With regard to pests, gardeners advise, first of all, to carry out treatments against thrips, the rest of the "neighbors" do not cause any particular inconvenience to strawberries, although prevention will never be superfluous.

The sensation perfectly adapts to a wide variety of climatic conditions and soil types, it takes root well in cold regions, on rather heavy clay soils. Of course, in extremely unusual conditions, plants need very good care.Still, the variety is Dutch, he likes the mild climate and light fertile soils more. By the way, this strawberry is excellent for growing indoors, in tunnels and greenhouses, which expands its potential distribution area. Winter hardiness and frost resistance in plants are at a decent level, they winter well in the Urals, in spring they do not suffer from recurrent frosts. However, it is still very desirable to provide a good cover for the landings, especially during periods of little snow. But even if the plants are slightly frozen, do not be upset - strawberries have excellent growth strength and the ability to quickly recover from stressful situations. Of course, various cataclysms have a bad effect on yields, but this is not surprising.

In agricultural technology, the Sensation is quite standard and does not require special attention. However, the variety is of an intensive type, therefore, one simple pattern is characteristic of its cultivation - the better you take care of it, the more and better the harvest you can get. Of the nuances, there are only a couple of main points to highlight. Firstly, strawberries react extremely negatively to thickening, therefore, no more than 4 plants are planted per square meter in open ground, and no more than 8 bushes in a small-volume container. Secondly, according to the originator, the variety is very sensitive to the magnesium content in the soil, therefore, planting should be provided with a sufficient amount of dressings containing this trace element. With a lack of magnesium, the green mass will suffer, and the yield will also fail. It is also important not to allow an overabundance of potassium, since its increased amount causes a shift in the K / Mg balance in the direction of K, due to which, again, there is a lack of magnesium. Also, the lack of Mg can be especially acute on soils with low pH. In general, the amount and composition of dressings should be taken extremely seriously, especially if you grow strawberries for commercial purposes, but in this article we will not consider all the subtleties, since they are, in principle, standard for the culture as a whole.

In conclusion, we can say the following. Sensation is a very promising young variety that clearly deserves attention. It is high-yielding, has excellent taste, especially in comparison with many other commercial varieties, is characterized by excellent production indicators (harvest time, yield of first class commercial products etc.). For a gardener, this strawberry is very attractive and will be a great addition to the collection. But how well it will perform at production facilities is a rather difficult question. The variety does not belong to the solid, does not tolerate long-distance transportation very well, and this is perhaps its main disadvantage commercially. Otherwise, no flaws have yet been found in her, but over time they can be identified. And at the moment, Sensation is a very ambitious novelty, really sensational, to some extent.