## 1 Introduction  
Taste tests have identified high soluble solids content (SSC) as the most desirable quality associated with strawberry flavor, followed by titratable acidity (TA) and the concentration of total volatile compounds [1, 2]. In the northeastern United States (US), many growers sell directly to consumers, either by inviting customers to pick their own fruit or offering fruit at farm stands and farm markets. To be competitive against more convenient supermarket strawberries, growers select cultivars that produce flavorful, sweet strawberries that can be picked at peak ripeness to secure market share [3], and would likely alter cultural practices if this resulted in more highly-flavored fruit. A few studies have reported differences in strawberry chemical composition in response to management practice. Organic management increased total sugar and ascorbic acid content in strawberry [4, 5, 6], whereas supra-optimal N (nitrogen) applications caused poor color, flavor, and reduced sweetness and firmness [7, 8]. Cover crops have been found to cause a reduction in free soil N [9, 10], so this could affect flavor and yield indirectly. Cover crops also can improve soil health [11], so using them and other carbon sources might improve flavor relative to fields without additional organic inputs. Some have speculated that improved soil health in organic fields could account for flavor differences in strawberries [6, 12]. Studies examining the impacts of microbial supplements have found improvements in phenolic content amongst treated plants [13], and some studies have found improved yields in association with mycorrhizal inoculation [14; 15; 16]. However, these factors have not been shown to consistently affect strawberry flavor attributes when controlling for cultivar and location and are not commonly implemented by growers specifically for improving flavor. Strawberry fruits of the same cultivar may display a high degree of variability in quality characteristics from year to year. A negative correlation between SSC and post-bloom air temperature has been observed in strawberry [17]. One study observed two-fold increases in total fruit sugars in treatments from one year to the next, and another observed a 2\({}^{\circ}\)Bx change [18; 19]. A greenhouse study found significant year-to-year variation in content of ellagic acid and ascorbic acid [20]. Within the same year, a 7 \({}^{\circ}\)C rise in average daily temperatures, from 15 to 22 \({}^{\circ}\)C towards the end of the growing season, was identified as a potential cause for reduced sweetness under subtropical growing conditions [21]. Fruits harvested from plants in a growth chamber at 15 \({}^{\circ}\)C for 3 weeks after flowering had higher SSC than fruit from plants grown at 22 \({}^{\circ}\)C. A negative correlation was found between SSC and mean temperature over the 8-day period before harvest across a 6-year span [22]. SSC in the day neutral cultivar Albion was found to be associated with warm temperatures early in fruit development but cooler temperatures closer to ripening [23]. One study found that average air temperature during ripening tended to be negatively associated with firmness and SSC, but that the magnitude of the response was different depending on cultivar [24]. Some cultivars were more stable than others, both within and between years. Clearly, weather patterns, and specifically temperature, influence sugars and acids in harvested fruit, but the specific time during fruit development when temperature is impactful has not been well quantified. Northern US growers typically grow short day strawberries in a perennial matted row system because of better plant establishment and less risk of crop loss due to frost damage that might otherwise occur on plastic-covered beds [3]. The goal of our study was to take a holistic look at a suite of potential factors that might affect flavor in perennial strawberry.