Berry naughty business

The strawberry’s connection to Valentine’s Day might be because this berry has a long history as a symbol of love, passion, righteousness and sensuousness. Strawberries might mean love is in the air, but on the ground these berries have been ensnared in scandal. One would think these would be sensational tales of breach of promise. Rather than heartbreak, strawberry scandals involve broken patents.

A hybrid of the octoploid species South American Fragaria chiloensis and North American Fragaria virginiana, the cultivated strawberry Fragaria × ananassa ‘is one of the most economically important fruit crops in the world’. Cultivating varieties of Fragaria × ananassa that produce more fruit, can weather non-ideal growth conditions and are resistant to diseases is big business. Each cultivar could be a cash crop. Thus, many cultivars are patented. But much like forbidden love, forbidden plants are often pursued with little regard to strictures.

One such forbidden plant was the Italian patented Fragaria × ananassa cultivar Marmolada, registered in 1984 by the Consorzio Italiano Vivaisti (CIV). A group of farmers were suspected of unlawfully reproducing and commercialising Marmolada, resulting in a lawsuit. As in many criminal and civil legal actions, DNA analysis brought clarity to the case. Like many other plant cultivars, Marmolada strawberries reproduce asexually via micropropagation, resulting in genetically identical offspring. DNA testing the plants in question would reveal if any of the suspected farmers indulged in forbidden fruit.