Productive Performance and Fruit Quality of Short Days Italian Genetic-based Strawberry Cultivars and Genotypes in Southern Brazil

Abstract

When grown under different climatic conditions, short days Italian genetic-based strawberry (IGBS) cultivars and genotypes present variations in productive performance and fruit quality. The objective of this study was to assess different productive performance and fruit quality of IGBS cultivars and genotypes grown in highland regions of southern Brazil. The experiment were conducted in randomized block design using three cultivars and 21 genotypes during the 2019, 2020 and 2021 growth seasons. The data were subjected to multivariate analysis using principal component analysis (PCA). IGBS cultivars and genotypes differed significantly in terms of productive and fruit quality parameters, according to PCA data. The first and second main components of PCA, respectively, were responsible for 61.9% and 72.4% of the productive performance and fruit quality parameters. The Pircinque cultivar and FRF PIR 256.04, ITA 13.097.05, ITA 12.103.22, ITA 10.107.07, and ITA 10.133.02 genotypes showed the highest indices of productive parameters of total production per plant, commercial production per plant, total fruit number per plant and commercial fruits number per plant. Among these, the Pircinque cultivar and the FRF PIR 256.04 genotypes demonstrated the best fruit quality parameters of fruit color (skin luminosity, chroma, and hue angle), flavor (soluble solids/ titratable acidity ratio), and fresh commercial fruit mass in highland regions of southern Brazil during the 2018, 2019 and 2020 growth seasons.