Mansikkalajin

Mansikkalajin is a Finnish term used to refer to a cultivated strawberry cultivar within the Fragaria genus. In everyday horticultural language, the more common expression for a specific cultivated line is mansikan lajike. Laji refers more broadly to a species or natural group, while lajike denotes an artificially bred, propagable line. Therefore, mansikkalajin typically appears in grammatical contexts describing a particular cultivar’s traits, rather than as a standalone name.

A strawberry cultivar, or mansikkalajin in this sense, encompasses inherited characteristics selected by breeders. These traits include fruit size, sweetness and aroma, firmness, color, yield, and tolerance to disease, pests, and local climate. Breeders also consider harvest season, storage quality, and plant vigor when defining a mansikkalajin.

Cultivars are commonly grouped by bearing pattern (June-bearing, everbearing or day-neutral), growth habit, and disease resistance. They are chosen to suit regional growing conditions, market requirements, and management practices. In cultivation, successful performance depends on factors such as soil drainage, fertility, pH (roughly 5.5–6.5), sunlight, irrigation, and mulching to control weeds and soil temperature.

In Finnish reference material, mansikkalajin is not a fixed name for a single cultivar but a generic way to speak of a strawberry cultivar within the species Fragaria × ananassa. The preferred term in most contexts is mansikan lajike. See also mansikka, lajike, Fragaria × ananassa, strawberry breeding.