Winterstar strawberry is a sweet newcomer to Florida farms

DOVER, Fla. - It's not uncommon to see strawberry fields in eastern Hillsborough County, but some of the berries found there are special and unique to the Bay area.

"It has really good early yields, similar to the Florida Radiance," said strawberry breeder Vance Whitaker.  He is referring to the Winterstar strawberry, the newest berry released by the University of Florida's Gulf Coast Research and Education Center.

"We're really excited about the quality of the variety and what it can do for the Florida growers," said Whitaker.

It's the 12th different type of strawberry that the Florida breeding program has released. Experts believe it will bring a sweeter, early blossoming fruit to farmer's fields.

Developing these berries can be a long and tedious process.  As much as 30,000 seedlings have to be evaluated and meet different criteria.

"The consumer wants a good eating quality strawberry that arrives to them fresh, so it has to have good shipping quality, firm enough not to bruise, but yet it has to maintain that good flavor and good color and shape when it gets to the shelf," said Whitaker.

You will be able to find the Winterstar variety of strawberry on store shelves starting next year.