RESEARCH to produce tastier strawberries is entering a new phase in a bid to find the perfect fruit.
After spending years in the field collecting, testing and recording the flavour of strawberries, RMIT University Professor Eddie Pang knows different people want different things from the summer fruit.
- VIDEO: Click here to view RMIT's video with the researchers.
"If you ask 10 different people what the perfect strawberry is they will have different answers," Prof Pang said.
"Ask the farmers and they will say the fruit that produces well and over a long period of time and provides the best income. The supermarkets want a long shelf life and something that attracts consumers. Consumers are looking for flavour and many believe it should be full of vitamin C and nutrients."
It's a balancing act but Prof Pang's aim is to eventually breed a fruit that has the sweetness of the Australian-bred Juliette variety which fruits November to January but has the longer harvest period of the Albion variety which fruits until May.
After identifying the top flavour compounds in the fruit, Prof Pang's work is entering the genetic phase which will look at enhancing delicious flavors by reducing the "green tasting compounds".
He described the "green tasting compounds" found in unripe fruit and also present at lesser levels in ripe fruit as "background noise".
The hope is to reduce the "green tasting compounds" to enhance the good flavoured genes.
"The sugar is diverted away from other parts. The flavour production is like a river from the sun and reducing the green tasting compounds leaves the sugar to be used elsewhere in the plant."By identifying the top flavour compounds that are controlled more by genes than the environment they're grown in, we can breed for them and help farmers in their quest for good strawberry yields that do not sacrifice appearance, aroma or taste."
Prof Pang said some people were concerned "something would be lost" but he said maintaining nutritional value was important.
"People want something healthy. If we create something without that, is it basically like a piece of candy."
While many flavour traits are controlled by genes, the research has also found soil moisture; heat and smoke from bushfires also play a role in the fruit's flavour.
Prof Pang has been assisted by PhD candidate Kavitha Samykanno and their work is supporting Strawberries Australia's breeding program. Most of the field work is done at the program's Wandin farm.
"The breeder is looking at the bigger picture. The breeder is selecting for a lot of other things like pests, larger fruit size, and day neutrality and we are helping out with flavour nutritional quality and day neutrality."
The university has developed tools to test for flavour and supports the program with analytical support.
The last three years of the university research has been funded by Horticulture Australia and Prof Pang is applying for another three years of funding.
