Eating Quality of Old and New University of Florida Strawberry Cultivars

The University of Florida strawberry breeding program has developed cultivars highly adapted to west-central Florida since the 1970s. In this trial, four advanced selections and 11 released cultivars, from 'Florida Belle' (1975) to 'Florida Radiance' (2008), were grown in a randomized complete-block design with 10-plant plots as the unit of replication. Fruit were harvested bi-weekly and evaluated once a month by a trained sensory panel, from January to March 2010. In January, FL-05-107 had the highest ratings for positive attributes (firmness, sweetness and strawberry flavor). 'Florida Belle; 'Earlibrite', 'Strawberry Festival' and FL-06-38 had high scores for sweetness and strawberry flavor, but were not as firm as FL-05-107. In February, the highest ratings for positive attributes were given to 'Florida Elyana' and 'Strawberry Festival' while FL-06-38 and 'Florida Radiance' were rated high in strawberry flavor. In March, 'Florida Elyana', 'Florida Belle', 'Florida Radiance' and FL-06-38 were also rated high in sweetness and strawberry flavor. FL-05-107 and FL-05-85 were consistently rated high in firmness. On the contrary, 'Sweet Charlie' had high sweetness but low firmness ratings in March. The lowest rating for strawberry flavor was given to 'Dover' both in January and February, and a high rating given for "overripe/fermented" in January and March, and "sour" in February. 'Winter Dawn' also had high ratings for "overripe/fermented" and "woody/musty" in January and March.