Creation and comprehensive evaluation of a new garden strawberry cultivar Udacha

This article reports the results of a long-term, comprehensive study of the new late-ripening garden strawberry cultivar Udacha, developed at the Federal Horticultural Center for Breeding, Agrotechnology, and Nursery (Russia). In 2011, hybridization was performed between the selected form No. 2-506-2 and the cultivar Tsaritsa. In 2013, form 3-366-9 was selected from this progeny and later officially named Udacha. The cultivar Alfa was used as a reference standard. According to primary variety trials conducted in 2020–2023, Udacha demonstrated good winter hardiness, with frost damage not exceeding 1.0 point. The fruits are large (average weight across all harvests 10.6 g, maximum 45.4 g), dark red, glossy, and firm (11.2 N). The berries have a sweet-and-sour taste with aroma, with a tasting score of 4.5. The average yield under a planting scheme of 1.2 × 0.25 m comprises 18.0 t/ha. Resistance to powdery mildew is high, resistance to strawberry mite is above average, and resistance to white and brown leaf spots is moderate. In terms of the overall set of economically valuable traits, the cultivar Udacha surpasses the reference cultivar Alfa, thus being promising for both commercial and amateur berry production as a late-ripening versatile cultivar.