Characteristics of soluble sugar accumulation in commercially grown Fragaria chiloensis

Abstract

Sugar concentration is one of the most important factors for the quality of strawberry fruit. Glucose, fructose, and sucrose are the major soluble sugars that are found in the fruit. Many cultivars predominantly accumulate glucose and fructose at almost equal level but sucrose level is generally much lower (Hancock, 1999). The levels of three major sugars in some Japanese cultivars, however, are almost equal or sucrose is often the highest (Uematsu, 1998). Ripe Fragaria chiloensis fruit show high (7.3 to 10.6) soluble solid content (SSC) but the sugar composition is not yet clear (Lavín and Maureira, 2000). In the present study, we analyzed soluble sugar concentration of promising land races in F. chiloensis and the results were compared with those in F. ×ananassa.