Central Coast community celebrates strawberries

Arroyo Grande recently hosted its annual Strawberry Festival, said an article in the Santa Maria Times. And this year, the city has more than ever to celebrate. In 2011, strawberries took the top spot in terms of production value in the San Luis Obispo Agriculture Commissoner's crop report.

The county’s strawberries were valued at more than $179 million in 2011.

Surendra Dara, UC Cooperative Extension advisor in San Luis Obispo County, a strawberry expert, said the 2012 crop is still larger and doing very well. 

“In the fields I’ve been checking, they’re very tasty,” Dara said.
 
The factor that has the greatest impact on strawberry sweetness and flavor, he said, is variety. The most popular variety is the Albion, which was developed by the University of California. The UC-developed San Andreas variety is also popular.