Sugar content analysis of three strawberry cultivars applying two different cultivation methods

The strawberry is one of the first seasonal fruits that appear in the markets in spring. Their nutritional properties have become major targets. In the case of new strawberry varieties neither their needs are known in production nor their real capabilities, so they have to be compared with older, standard, control varieties. The manuals of the breeders usually give references only about the criteria of cultivation, but for the complete characterization of the variety it is necessary to have additional facts which are based on objective testing results. In this work three cultivars were analysed from which 'Clery' is a control variety, 'Joly' and'Dely' are new, prospective varieties in Serbia. Furthermore, two cultivation methods were used and compared: open field and Agryl technology. HPLC analysis and acid analysis were performed on the major sugar compounds, including fructose, glucose, and sucrose. It was determined that fructose is the predominant sugar in all examined strawberry kinds, and its content increased the most throughout ripening. The amount of the other sugar compounds varied in high scale depending on cultivar, cultivation technology and harvest time. The cultivars 'Joly' and 'Dely' showed better results using open field technology than the cultivar 'Clery'. They produce the best results in the third harvest time.