Effect of cultivars and different growing technologies on strawberry yield and fruit quality

The interest in organic farming and organically produced products is increasing every year in Estonia. In 2003 the trial with four widely grown strawberry cultivars: ʹPolkaʹ, ʹBountyʹ, ʹKoronaʹ and ʹSenga Senganaʹ in two variants, the organic and the conventional, was established at the Polli Horticultural Research Centre. The objective of this study was to assess the strawberry cultivars in organic and conventional growing with regard to their yield and berry quality. No significant differences in commercial and defective yield per plant between two growing variants were observed in 2004, but the commercial yields were significantly higher in the conventional variant in 2005 and 2006. It was noted that organically grown strawberries had a higher content of soluble solids, but a lower content of ascorbic acid comparing with conventionally grown strawberries. Due to its good productivity and high content of soluble solids and ascorbic acid, ʹBountyʹ was the most profitable cultivar in this study, and appeared highly suitable for organic cultivation.