Hecker

Crop
Strawberry
Cultivar
Hecker

Orig. at Univ. of California Wolfskill Expt. Orchard, Winters by R.S. Bringhurst and Victor Voth, Agr. Expt. Sta. Univ. of California, Davis. Introd. in 1979. Plant patent 4507, 4 Mar. 1980; assigned to Regents, Univ. of California, Davis. 65.65-601 (complex parentage) × 66.96-101 [ self × 42.8-16 (male parent of Tioga)]. Third backcross generation derivative from a male Fragaria virginiana glauca collected in the Wasatch Mountains near Salt Lake City, Utah. <b>Fruit:</b> flesh flavor and quality equal or superior to those of currently grown California short-day cultivars; high in ascorbic acid; skin dark reddish-orange. <b>Plant:</b> small; leaves same color as those of Tioga; less susceptible to verticillium wilt than Tioga and Tufts. Recommended for home gardens as day-neutral (can be made to produce fruit 3 months after planting). Named for Hecker Pass, Santa Cruz County, Calif.