The 2012 ASHS Annual Conference

Strawberries are highly perishable fruits and have postharvest handling requirements including initial pre-cooling to temperatures near 0 °C and holding at 5 °C thereafter to reduce decay and water loss during storage.  It is important to approximate the performance of University of Florida (UF) strawberry advanced selections for their postharvest qualities to determine their potential as cultivars. The objectives of this study were to compare strawberry cultivars and advanced breeding selections from the UF breeding program for some postharvest attributes, evaluating the effect of storage at 4 °C and 90% to 95% RH on weight retention, soluble solids content (SSC), fruit appearance and calyx appearance across three harvest dates in 2011.  Due to availability and interest several genotypes were evaluated: ‘Bish’, ‘Galleta’, ‘Florida Radiance’, ‘Strawberry Festival’, Winterstar™, and selections UF2, UF3, UF4, and UF5.  Five marketable fruit were packed into each of four replicate clamshells per genotype. The weight (g) and SSC (%) were recorded on the day of harvest and on the 8^th day after harvest. Appearance evaluations were done the day of harvest and again on the 4^th and 8^th days after harvest by three separate panelists using a non-structured 10 cm scale where overall appearance was anchored from 0 = old, dull to 10 = fresh, glossy and calyx appearance was anchored from 0=wilted, brown to 10=turgid, green. Storage at 4 °C for 8 days differentially affected the fruit quality of strawberry cultivars and advanced breeding selections from the UF breeding program. ‘Strawberry Festival’ and Winterstar™ had the highest weight retention of 95% and 94%, respectively. ‘Galleta’ and ‘Strawberry Festival’ obtained the highest increase in SSC by 27% and 25%, respectively. UF5, ‘Bish’, ‘Florida Radiance’ and Winterstar™ had increased SSC of 3% to 8% after 8 days. UF4, ‘Strawberry Festival’ and UF3 obtained the highest overall fruit appearance ratings after 8 days of storage. ‘Strawberry Festival’, Winterstar™, and UF3 were graded by the panelists as having calyxes that were more turgid and green compared to ‘Bish’, ‘Florida Radiance’, and UF2.  The study indicated that multiple advanced selections have quality after storage that is comparable to commercial standards.