"Professor Staudt Collection": fruit diversity in Fragaria virginiana Miller and Fragaria chiloensis Miller

The “Professor Staudt Collection” contains 70 Fragaria chiloensis and 60 Fragaria virginiana accessions of different subspecies. To access fruit diversity and to differentiate between the two species six parameters were quantitatively evaluated: soluble solids (°Brix), citric acid equivalent, single fruit weight, and the LAB values (colourimetric measurements) of the puree colour. Different graphical and statistical methods were applied (frequency analysis, significance tests and cluster analysis using Euclidean distances). Single fruit weight and acidity are the most important parameters for a reliable distinction between both species allowing taxonomical clarification. Accessions of uncertain regional provenance and/or hybrid origin can be identified based on statistical methods. The data enable a refined description of the germplasm and a reliable and traceable selection of material for cross-breeding (introgression experiments). The phenotypic data will be used for molecular studies in the course of the collaborative project “GENOFRA”.