Rumba is an early season variety from the breeding program of Fresh Forward. Rumba ripens about seven days before Sonata, but the season is considerably longer than that of Honeoye or Clery.
The variety convinces with medium red fruits with an appealing gloss. The fruits are large, uniform and firm and are easy to storage. They have a good shelf life and therefore even retain their gloss and shine after cold storage. The taste of the juicy fruits is good. Regular picking is important as the berries would otherwise get too dark.
For an earlier season start, Rumba can be grown under fleece and/or foil as well as in tunnels. Yields are high thanks to the proper size and weight of the individual fruits. There are barely any misshaped fruits.
The flower trusses are not too long, so that the blossoms are fairly well protected by the foliage against late frosts and heavy rain. Also, it is important to cover the plants with foil or fleece in the spring to protect the flowers from night frosts.

Rumba is a very healthy, vigorously growing variety that has so far not shown any particular sensitivities to specific diseases. However, the breeders recommend preventive treatment against Botrytis and Rhizoctonia.
35 cm has been proven the right spacing between the plants in a row. Two types of planting can be used for Rumba: Frigo plants in the spring or fresh plants at the beginning of August. Given the large size of the fruits and the good health conditions, two-year cultivation is possible without any problems. However, the plants must then be protected against winter frosts in the second year, because the rhizomes will have grown up fairly high by that time.
Boron-containing fertilizers should be used sparingly, as the variety tends to uptake excessive amounts of this trace element. Apart from this, Rumba is relatively easy to cultivate and no special fertilizers are necessary.