Current status of the Chilean native strawberry and the research needs to convert the species into a commercial crop

Abstract

Strawberries belong to the genus Fragaria, family Rosaceae. The name is derived from the Latin fragans, due to the fragrance of the fruits. The genus Fragaria is composed of a series of polyploid species consisting of nine diploids, three tetraploids, one pentaploid, one hexaploid, and four octoploids (Hancock et al., 1999). These plants are widely distributed in the world, primarily in temperate climates, although is also possible to find them in tropical zones (Hancock, 1999). The most abundant group corresponds to the diploid species, found mainly in Europe and Asia.