Effects on the quality and nutritional traits of wood strawberry fruits in Sicily.

In Sicily, the common woodland strawberry (Fragaria vesca) is spontaneousin the Madonie Mountains (554 m a.s.l.), Nebrodi Mountains (850 m) and MountEtna (900 m). In this region, the main clone cultivated is ‘Fragolina di Sciacca eRibera’, named after the towns where the crop originally developed. It is a Junebearinggenotype and it is characterized by very small fruits, globose-conical shape,deep red colour, very soft flesh, strong aroma and flavor. Also ever-bearing clonesare cultivated in Sicily where they are cropped for many months. Solid solublecontent, total titratable acidity, total antioxidant capacity, total polyphenols andanthocyanins content were quantified in berry samples of ‘Fragolina di Sciacca eRibera’ and ‘Regina delle Valli’ (ever-bearing) grown in two production sites inSicily (Bronte-Etna mount and Marsala) characterized by different soils, climaticconditions and altitudes (890 and 24 m a.s.l., respectively).