Vesper - The plant is lar^e , vigorous and a good runner producer. The 

 fruit ripens very late, two to three days after Jerseybelle. Yields 

 have been considerably higher than Jerseybelle in our Amherst trials. 

 Vesper is a little darker red than Jerseybelle, is very large in size, 

 has prominent yellow seeds and a glossy skin, all of which make it very 

 attractive c The fruit is moderately firm and good in flavor. Limited 

 observations by growers indicate that berries should be harvested while 

 light red in color. Dark berries may be soft and non-marketable. This 

 variety merits trial because of its lateness, productivity, large size 

 and attractiveness. It should not be planted where red stele is a prob- 

 lem c 



Data as to season, berry size and yield for some of the more impor- 

 tant varieties that were included in 1964 trials will be found in the 

 following table. 



STRAWBERRY VARIETY EVALUATION - 1964 

 University of Massachusetts 

 Horticultural Research Center 

 Belchertown, Massachusetts 



Varietv 



Season 

 % Early 



(1) 



0/ 



/o 



Late 



Berry Size *- -' 

 1st 3rd 5th 



Number of Calculated Yield 

 Pickings Quarts per Acre 



Ear lid awn 

 Midway 

 Fu I ton 

 Sparkle 

 Catskill 

 Fie tcher 

 Frontenac 

 Vesper 



56 

 13 

 9 

 9 

 7 

 5 

 3 

 





 9 

 10 

 19 

 21 

 27 

 40 

 70 



272 

 383 

 329 

 285 

 372 

 356 

 267 

 466 



227 

 337 

 256 

 227 

 360 

 301 

 277 

 389 



185 

 254 

 185 

 192 

 291 

 230 

 310 

 303 



7 



11,384 



13,242 



12,974 



7,732 



14,941 



9,917 



7,144 



13,649 



OJSeason June 10 to July 6 (11 pickings) 



% Early - percentage of total crop of each variety picked in first 



3 pickings 

 % Late - percentage of total crop of each variety picked in last 

 3 pickings 

 (^^) Berry size - average weight in grams of 25 berries 



PLUMS 



Those Massachusetts growers contemplating planting plums are re- 

 ferred to Special Circular 212-H Plum Varieties for Massachusetts. Var- 

 ieties suggested for commercial planting in that circular include For- 

 mosa, Santa Rosa, Yakima, and Stanley. 



Formosa - A Japanese type plum ripening during the first week of August. 

 The fruit is large, attractive, red blushed and of very good quality. 

 The trees are moderately productive and the fruit holds up well in stor- 



