Uf/IFAS
Dr. Vance Whitaker in one of his strawberry fields at the UF/IFAS Gulf Coast Research and Education Center in Balm, Florida
Volunteer tasting panels have long been relied upon to guide decisions on which strawberries taste and smell best, and therefore should be bred for Florida's $300 billion crop.
Tasting panels and breeding for better taste have been around since agriculture began, and now a researchers at University of Florida are using a new approach to creating better berries. Artificial intelligence is now helping identify cultivars most likely to produce a berry consumers will love. Already having collected data from hundreds and hundreds of volunteer tasters, computers now help match the chemical component that creates aromas of sweetness and “strawberriness.”