Evaluation of the introduced strawberry varieties for fruit quality

According to the international data about 10.5 million tons of strawberries were produced in 2023 in the world, in the Russian Federation, occupying the seventh place in the world the production was 261.2 thousand tons. In addition to the cultivation of highly adaptive domestic variety, the interest of many producers is inclined in favor of the introduction of foreign varieties characterized by high marketable and consumer qualities, the study of which is of great interest and relevance. The aim of the research was to study the qualitative parameters of berries (large fruitfulness, firmness, sugar content) of strawberries of the introduced varieties. The research was carried out in FSBEI HE RSAU MTAA in 2023-2024 on the basis of the fruit station of V.I. Edelstein SRPC of horticulture and vegetable growing. The varieties under study were Vima Kimberly (K), Asia (NF 421), Bravura and Florence. The plants were grown according to the intensive technology on the rows with the use of mulching materials (agrotextile), drop irrigation, basic fertigation system, covering plants for the winter period with covering material. To assess the qualitative parameters of fruits, we used the generally accepted method of varietal studies (Orel: ASRIPBC, 1999). The analysis of the data on large fruit size revealed differences among the studied varieties depending on the collection. In terms of average fruit weight for all harvests, the varieties Asia and Florence were identified as superior to the control variety Vima Kimberly. In terms of fruit hardness, the variety Florense was identified, which was significantly superior to the control one. During the study period, determination of the content of dry soluble substances, most of which were sugars, allowed to identify varieties with the sweetest fruits: Asia (8.49 %Brix), Bravura (8.09 %Brix). Assessing the complex of qualitative indicators of fruits in the studied varieties of strawberries, it can be concluded that the superiority over the control Vima Kimberly (K) had varieties Florence and Asia, which had greater large fruitfulness and hardness of berries of the first harvest. The variety Bravura, along with the variety Asia was characterized by an increased content of sugars.