New Bayer Strawberry

Dr. Jake Holley

Bayer has launched a new strawberry variety, Baya Solara, now available to growers in the UK, Germany, Belgium, the Netherlands and Luxembourg. Baya Solara is a June-bearing variety noted for resistance to diseases such as Phytophthora, while also producing fruit with strong postharvest performance and desirable culinary qualities.

Bayer’s strawberry breeding program stems from its 2023 acquisition of the British company NIAB, which is well known for varieties like Malling Ace, an everbearing strawberry that has been gaining popularity in recent years.

For indoor growers, everbearing strawberries are often the default choice, as they provide relatively consistent (though sometimes flushy) production over extended periods. That said, many growers also utilize June-bearing strawberries, which are short-day plants (similar to poinsettias) to target winter production. Using a combination of June-bearing and everbearing cultivars can help stabilize yields in greenhouse systems and maintain year-round supply. This approach aligns well with common greenhouse production cycles, where strawberry crops are often grown for six to nine months before turnover, allowing flexibility in flowering physiology based on season and climate.

As Bayer continues to expand its strawberry breeding efforts, it’ll be interesting to see how these varieties perform under controlled environment conditions. With Bayer’s own marketing imagery highlighting greenhouse production, there’s reason for optimism that breeders will continue delivering strawberry cultivars better suited to indoor systems, improving both reliability and profitability for this still-emerging greenhouse crop. IG