Sallybright

Parentage
Sallybright (formerly EM1296) was bred at East Malling Research and was first selected in 2003. It has a complex pedigree, which includes Alice, Selva and Eros.

Fruit Quality
The berries have a regular conical shape and are very attractive with a glossy skin finish, strong red colour and reflexed calyx. The skin strength is moderate to good with a juicy, soft flesh. Flavour is consistently good through the season, with a well-balanced sugar to acid ratio and Brix levels consistently higher than Elsanta.

Yield and Fruit Size
In trials the Class 1 yields have been moderate to good, with a higher percentage of large (>35mm) berries than Elsanta.

Marketing Suitability
The excellent flavour and eating quality of Sallybright, combined with the attractive appearance and ease of harvest, make it very suitable for the pick-your-own, direct marketing and amateur sectors.

Plant Characteristics
The plants are vigorous, tall and erect with big leaves and an open habit. The flowers are held above the leaf canopy on long trusses, which aids pollination and results in uniformly regular shaped berries, which are well displayed and easy to pick.

Disease resistance
Tests conducted at East Malling have indicated that Sallybright does not have strong resistance to any of the common diseases, but the plants have good vigour and no disease problems have been encountered in commercial trials of the variety.

Use of the variety
The earliness of Sallybright makes it a good choice to start the season and the use of protection would advance harvesting further. The main strengths of Sallybright are the lovely sweet flavour and attractive, glossy, deep red berries. These make it particularly well suited for amateur use.