‘Petaluma' is another variety released by former UC plant breeders Doug Shaw and Kirk Larsen in 2014. As with ‘Fronteras', it is a short day cultivar, meaning it produces the majority of its fruit in during the shorter days of spring and fall rather than in the summer. It is adapted to the fall planting/winter production systems of the coast of California.
Compared to the standard short day variety ‘Ventana', ‘Petaluma' is a moderately vigorous plant, and for this reason will likely occupy less space per plant in the field than ‘Ventana'. The fruit is a bit darker and larger than ‘Ventana', has great flavor and good storage characteristics. The fruiting pattern of ‘Petaluma' is similar to that of ‘Ventana', with on average close to 2/5 of its production taking place in the early part of the season.
‘Petaluma' shows good resistance to Fusarium wilt. Resistance to Verticillium wilt and to Phytophthora is substantially greater than that of ‘Ventana'. Based on controlled inoculations, ‘Petaluma' has a good level of resistance to crown rot caused by Macrophomina.
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