The worldwide established strawberry cultivar ‘Albion’ and three recently introduced cultivars in Europe:
‘Monterey’, ‘Capri’, and ‘Murano’, grown hydroponically, were studied to ascertain the influence of cultivar
and harvesting date on the physical, chemical, antioxidant and phytochemical properties of their
fruits. Interrelationships of investigated parameters and these cultivars were investigated by the statistical
approach of principal component analysis (PCA). Results indicated that cultivar had a more signifi-
cant effect on the analyzed parameters than harvesting date. Thus grouping of the variables in a PCA plot
indicated that each cultivar has specific characteristics important for consumer or industrial use. Cultivar
‘Monterey’ was the richest in phytochemical contents and consequently in antioxidant activity, ‘Albion’
showed the highest contents of total soluble solids, titratable acidity content and ascorbic acid, ‘Capri’
had the highest value of firmness, while ‘Murano’ had lighter color in comparison to others. Potential
use of these cultivars has been assessed according to these important measured attributes.