Effect of Harvest Date on the Soluble Solids Content and Sugar Profile of Commercial Strawberry Cultivars and Advanced Selections from the University of Florida

Abstract

The objectives of this study were to compare strawberry cultivars and advanced breeding selections from the University of Florida for soluble solids (SSC), glucose, fructose, and total sugar (TS) contents and to examine the influence of harvest date throughout the 2011–12 strawberry season. Winterstar™ FL 05-107, ‘Strawberry Festival’, ‘Florida Radiance’, and four advanced selections FL 06-38, FL 07-193, FL 09-127 and FL 10-47 were evaluated on four harvest dates from January to February 2012. The high field temperatures measured in late-February seemed to have contributed to a reduced SSC for all genotypes. Selections FL 06-38, FL 09-127, and FL 10-47 showed a constant decrease in TS from late-January to late-February. In comparison, FL 07-193 showed a constant TS content throughout those harvest dates, although it experienced a significant decrease in the TS content in the mid-January harvest. Overall, strawberry genotypes seemed to respond to seasonal field temperatures differently. FL 09-127 was ranked as either the first or second genotype for TS content on all dates when it was measured. This suggests that this genotype may have consistently good eating quality. ‘Florida Radiance’ showed more variation in TS than some other genotypes across harvest dates.