Cal Giant # 3 - Variety Description

Plant Characteristics

‘Cal Giant #3’ is a short day style of plant that has a strong ever-bearing tendency, producing runners at the nursery well, and producing fruit in the commercial fruiting fields continually throughout the spring, summer, and fall. ‘Cal Giant #3’ produces plant yields at the nursery equal to or greater than all of the University of California varieties while requiring no special treatment above and beyond normal cultural practices. In the fruiting field ‘Cal Giant #3’ produces a number of strong healthy crowns early in the growing season facilitating very good early season production. ‘Cal Giant #3’ produces a very conical, uniformly sized, well-shaped berry. ‘Cal Giant #3’ pollinates well in inclement weather, allowing for continued production of well-shaped fruit throughout cool, moist conditions.

Disease Resistance

‘Cal Giant #3’ displays extremely good tolerance to soil-borne diseases such as Verticillium wilt (Verticillium spp.), Phytophthora spp., Pythium root rot (Pythium spp.), and Rhizoctonia root rot (Rhizoctonia solani), growing and producing extremely well in non-fumigated soils; in non-fumigated soils ‘Cal Giant #3’ produces a crop equivalent to plants grown in fumigated soils. ‘Cal Giant #3’ displays very good tolerance to foliar diseases such as powdery mildew (Spaerotheca macularis), leaf spot (Mycosphaerella), and anthracnose (Colletotrichum spp.). 

This photo shows the relative plant vigor Cal Giant #3 on the right, Diamante on the left. In this production site in Watsonville California, the two varieties are planted side by side on non-fumigated soil. May, 2000.

Fruit Characteristics

The flavor of the ‘Cal Giant #3’ is exceptional, displaying a pleasant combination of both sugars and acids, producing a very sweet flavor. Unlike many varieties, with good flavor coming and going throughout season due to variations in weather or cultural practices, the ‘Cal Giant #3’ flavor remains consistent throughout the fruiting season.