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‘Kuemsil’, a Strawberry Variety Suitable for Forcing Culture

A strawberry variety ‘Kuemsil’ was derived in 2007 as an artificial cross between ‘Maehyang’, a high fruit firmness variety and‘Seolhyang’, a high-yielding variety. The lines were selected from 2009 to 2011, and yield trials of ‘08MS-62’, the final selected line, wereconducted to evaluate its characteristics in forcing cultures from 2012 to 2015. After farmer field trials in 2016, the line was renamed ‘Kuemsil’. The general characteristics of ‘Kuemsil’ include upright growth habit, elliptical leaves, and strong vigorous growth. The fruit are conical andlight red. This variety is suitable for forcing culture because of the early flower bud differentiation (late August), early first harvest (late November),and continuous formation of next flower clusters. The first cluster bore about 22.4 fewer flowers compared with those of the check varieties(‘Maehyang’ and ‘Seolhyang’), which could reduce the labor cost needed for fruit thinning. ‘Kuemsil’ was high in sugar content (11.1 °Bx)and had optimal fruit firmness (21.9 g/mm2), which is comparable to ‘Seolhyang’. The fruit weight was about 24.6 g, higher than that of thecheck varieties. The marketable yield was 566.9 g, 14% higher than that of ‘Maehyang’ and 13% less than that of ‘Seolhyang’. Unlike ‘Maehyang’,which is harvested in unripe stage, ‘Kuemsil’ fruit should be harvested at 80% coloration to intensify their deep flavor. ‘Kuemsil’ is more susceptibleto Phytophthora crown rot compared with the check varieties, which requires complete disinfection of the soil area (or substrate) of the crownrot. ‘Kuemsil’ was registered with the Korea Seed and Variety Service (KSVS) for commercialization in 2018 (Registration No. 7345).