Horticultural characteristics and chemical composition of advanced raspberry lines from Quebec and Ontario

Three advanced raspberry (Rubus idaeus L.) lines from the University of Guelph breeding program (‘88-18’, ‘88-117’, ‘88-134’) and one advanced line from the Quebec fruit breeding program (‘SJR942-7’) were tested for their winter hardiness, fruit quality, horticultural characteristics and antioxidant activity compared to four commercially grown cultivars (‘Festival’, ‘Boyne’, ‘Nova’ and ‘Killarney’) recommended for Quebec. Lines ‘88-18’ from Guelph and ‘SJR942-7’ from Quebec had higher antioxidant activity, larger fruit size, better fruit quality and longer shelf life than all other lines and cultivars tested. The ellagic acid content of ‘SJR942-7’ was approximately two times higher than that of the commercial cultivars grown in Quebec.