The underlying mechanism of
strawberry softening is unclear, although the largest
changes in the fruit cell wall occur in the pectin component.
These changes include a significant increase of water-soluble
pectins and only slight modification on the total quantity
and length of polyuronide residues (Huber, 1984;
Knee, Sargent, & Osborne, 1977; Redgwell et al., 1997;
Woodward, 1972).