Strawberry variety Holiday
Holiday is a non-repairable variety of garden strawberries (strawberries) of late ripening, dessert use. It was bred in the United States back in the 80s, by crossing the varieties Raritan and New York 844. In 1987, an application was made to include the "novelty" in the State Register of Breeding Achievements of the Russian Federation, and in 1992, after passing state tests, the variety has been added to it. Approved for cultivation in two regions of the country: North Caucasian (Republic of Adygea, Ingushetia, Kabardino-Balkarian, North Ossetia-Alania, Chechen, Dagestan, Crimea, Rostov region, Stavropol and Krasnodar regions) and Ural (Kurgan, Chelyabinsk, Orenburg regions and Republic of Bashkortostan). Currently, Holiday is already considered obsolete, but still lives in garden plots and in small farms, and our hero is also the "parent" of many popular varieties, for example Honey.
The plant is vigorous, erect, medium spreading, medium leafy, looks very compact. The leaves are rather large, slightly wrinkled, pubescent, light green in color. The flowers are white, bisexual. Inflorescences are multi-flowered, spreading. Strawberry flower stalks are quite strong, do not tend to lie on the ground under the weight of the crop, are located at the level of the leaves or below.
The berries are of a medium size, regular conical shape; during the first harvest, comb-shaped specimens can be observed. The skin is bright red with a glossy sheen. Achenes are yellow, superficial. The pulp is orange-red in color, dense, but not firm, juicy, aromatic. The berries have a very good dessert taste, sweet, with a useful graceful sourness. The fruits are versatile in use, excellent fresh and processed, and are also suitable for freezing. They tolerate transportation quite well, but Holiday is no longer relevant for commercial cultivation, so we will not talk about its use for selling berries on the market.
The average weight of the berries is 30-32 grams, the fruiting of our hero is rather unstable, the fruits become smaller by the end of the season, reaching 10 grams. In the State Register of Varieties of the Russian Federation, the average weight of berries is indicated in the range of 11-12 grams. The strawberry yield is average, although it even pulls out to a high one, subject to competent agricultural technology, as well as with a compacted growing technology. It is possible to harvest from 100 to 150 centners of berries from one hectare of area.
According to the State Register, Holiday was weakly affected by disease during state trials. It is quite winter hardy, given the regions of tolerance, we can say that it does quite well even in very cool areas. Strawberries have excellent drought tolerance, but dry periods have a negative effect on the flavor of the berries and the yield. In general, the variety is quite dependent on the weather conditions of the season, which can immediately be attributed to its disadvantages.
In agricultural technology, the variety is quite standard, but it requires regular and high-quality carrying out of all the necessary care measures. Particular attention should be paid to watering and feeding, it is these two factors that have the greatest influence on the productivity of plants and the taste of berries. Also, do not forget to update landings in time as needed. If you do not do this, the harvest will not please you in size - a frank trifle will be tied on the bushes.
Holiday is a time-tested variety that has earned a lot of praise over the years of its existence. Even today it is very good, although it is in many ways inferior to the modern popular favorites of the strawberry market.It will be an excellent addition to the garden collection, will delight you with good taste, but for commercial cultivation, our hero is no longer very attractive.
