In many areas of the US, fresh locally grown berries are not available during the winter. With this in mind, a research study comprised of three experiments was conducted focused on cultivar selection for berry yield, number, sweetness and phytonutrient content. Using a capillary mat system with under bench heating within a double-layer polyethylene greenhouse, strawberries were grown in the Great Plains Region of the US during the winter. During experiment 1, 12 cultivars were grown; berries were weighed, counted and analyzed digitalcommons.unl.edu P a p a r o z z i e t a l . i n S c i e n t i a H o r t i c u l t u r a e 2 2 7 ( 2 0 1 8 ) 2 for sugars and phytonutrients. "Albion" plants produced a high number/mass of berries, had relatively high sugar content but a lower level of phytonutrients when compared to other cultivars. Sugar and phytonutrients concentrations overlapped across cultivars and thus, one cultivar could not be statistically singled out as best. As all cultivars flowered and fruited, two additional 8-month-long experiments were conducted. It took only 7 weeks from potting of dormant crowns for most cultivars to produce fruit. Certain cultivars fruited more successfully during certain months than others, but this was not associated with response time.

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Grapes in the Midwestern U.S. were very low in selenium and lithium contents. Foliar spray of Se and Li fertilizers was effective to biofortify these micronutrients, which did not significantly affect the growth and fruit quality of grapes.

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