The 2011 ASHS Annual Conference

In central Florida, strawberries (Fragaria x ananassa) are harvested from late November to late March.  The peak harvest typically occurs during the last month of the season.  As the peak harvest progresses, temperatures rise, fruit become smaller, and the soluble solids content (SSC) of fruit declines.  The main objective of this study was to determine whether the progression of peak harvest results in a decline in SSC independent of temperature.  In 2007 and 2008, recently-opened flowers were tagged in the field on the first week into the peak bloom (WPB) and for three additional weeks thereafter.  Three days after tagging, plants were transplanted to one of two constant temperature environments (15 °C or 22 °C).  The weight, SSC and fruit development period (FDP) of tagged fruit were recorded at maturity.  SSC was lower at the higher temperature (5.2% at 22 °C vs. 6.5% at 15 °C) in both years.  At constant temperatures, SSC did not change with WPB in 2007 and was positively correlated with WPB in 2008.  In addition, the coefficient of determination (r²) for a regression of SSC on mean temperature over the period 8 d prior to harvest was 0.73 for fruit harvested from fields between 2003 and 2009.  These results indicate that rising temperature is an important factor in the late-season decline of SSC in strawberry fruit in Florida.