In principle, in vitro propagation results in uniform batches of plants, which grow, flower and fruit normally. However, phenotypic changes often observed in the field performance of tissue culture-produced strawberry plants might affect their agronomic value. So, it is of utmost importance to assess the field performance of in vitro propagated plants to verify their fidelity to conventional propagated plants. In this study, the agronomic value of the strawberry plants derived from cultivars ‘Filon’ and ‘Teresa’ via in vitro propagation and their first vegetative progeny was compared to conventional plants. During the field experiments, agronomic traits such as plant vigor, abundance of flowering and yield components were evaluated. The results showed the different field response of cultivars tested to in vitro propagation. In spite of the phenotypic changes observed in in vitro derived plants, their agronomic value was equal or superior in comparison with conventional plants. In conclusion, it should be stated that in vitro propagation method can be safely recommended for the reproduction of these strawberry cultivars.

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