The effect of preharvest UV-C on the levels of bioactive compounds in strawberry fruits appears to be cultivar- dependent, with season or growing conditions having a significant impact.

The agronomic characteristics and chemical composition of seven advanced day-neutral strawberry lines and a commercial cultivar 'Seascape' were evaluated for their horticulture and quality attributes. The results showed that the advanced strawberry lines had the best horticultural characteristics, such as more resistance to diseases, less weight and juice losses and better fruit glossiness during storage, compared to 'Seascape'. Among the advanced lines, FIN005-55 had the better fruit quality with higher soluble solids content (SSC)/titratable acidity (TA) ratio and highest SSC, FIN005-7 had the highest total phenolic content (TPC) and antioxidant capacity (AC), and both had potential for commercial trials.

No abstract

The effects of three mulching systems on total yield, average yield per plant, average fruit weight, soluble solids content (SSC), titratable acidity (TA), firmness and oxygen radical absorbance capacity (ORAC) of two newly developed lines (‘Orléans’ and ‘Saint Pierre’), one advanced selection (‘SJ8976-1’) and two commonly used cultivars (‘Jewel’ and ‘Kent’) were evaluated. The studied mulching systems were: plastic mulch (PM), mulch with row cover (PMRC), and matted-row system (MRS). Results showed that plastic mulch with row cover (PMRC) generally increased yield per plant, average fruit weight, SSC, firmness and ORAC, but differences varied within harvest times. No significant differences in total yield and TA were observed under the selected mulching systems. Both PMRC and PM accelerated the harvest periods compared to MRS. ‘Kent’ and ‘Jewel’ had the highest total yield while ‘SJ8976-1’ and ‘St-Pierre’ had the highest average fruit weight. The highest SSC, TA and ORAC were found in ‘Jewel’. There was no interaction between the mulching systems and genotypes, indicating that the effect of production system is independent of cultivars. PMRC seems to be a better growing system, improving fruit quality and increasing the nutritional value of all genotypes. By allowing off-season fruit production in cool climates, PMRC can be an alternative method to the costly high tunnels.

A comparative study of the total phenolic content (TPC), antioxidant capacity (AC) and L-phenylalanine ammonia-lyase (PAL) activity of non-inoculated and inoculated fruits of five strawberry cultivars ('Clé des Champs', 'Darselect', 'Jewel', 'Kent' and 'Veestar') with varying degrees of resistance or susceptibility to Botrytis cinerea was performed during five days of storage in 2007 and 2008. During storage, the TPC and AC of the non-inoculated fruits remained steady, whereas the TPC and AC changed significantly in the inoculated fruits, with the exception of the AC of the 'Veestar' fruits. For the susceptible cultivar 'Kent', a quadratic pattern of PAL activity was observed in both the non-inoculated and the inoculated fruits, similar to the pattern in the non-inoculated fruits of 'Clé des Champs'. In general, linear reductions in the TPC and AC were observed in the inoculated fruits.