Search Results (168)

The commercial propagation of strawberries is increasingly constrained by the incidence of both established and emerging soilborne pathogens, particularly under soil cultivation systems. Micropropagation represents an effective strategy to ensure the production of virus-free, true-to-type mother plants suitable for high-efficiency propagation. In this study, micropropagated mother plants of four short-day cultivars (‘Francesca’, ‘Silvia’, ‘Lauretta’, and ‘Dina’) and one ever-bearing advanced selection (‘AN12,13,58’) were cultivated under a controlled soilless system. Quantitative parameters including number of runners per plant, runner length, and number of tips per runner and per plant were assessed to evaluate propagation performance. Micropropagated mother plants exhibited a significantly higher stoloniferous potential compared to in vivo-derived mother plants (frigo plants type A), with the latter producing approximately 50% fewer propagules. Rooted tips of ‘Dina’ were further assessed under different fertigation regimes. The NPK 20–20–20 nutrient solution enhanced photosynthetic activity and shoot and root biomass (length, diameter, and volume via WinRHIZO analysis). These results confirm the suitability of micropropagated mother plants grown in soilless conditions for efficient, high-quality clonal propagation and support the integration of such systems into certified nursery production schemes. Full article

Tetranychus urticae, commonly known as the two-spotted spider mite, is a highly adaptable and polyphagous arthropod in the family Tetranychidae, capable of feeding on over 1200 plant species, including strawberries (Fragaria × ananassa Duch.). The fitness and microbiota of herbivorous arthropods can vary significantly across different plant species and cultivars. In this study, we investigated the fecundity, longevity, growth rate, and microbiota composition of T. urticae reared on seven Chinese strawberry cultivars: Hongyan (HY), Yuexiu (YX), Tianshi (TS), Ningyu (NY), Xuetu (XT), Zhangjj (ZJ), and Xuelixiang (XLX). Our findings revealed significant differences among cultivars: mites reared on the XT cultivar exhibited the highest fecundity (166.56 ± 7.82 eggs), while those on XLX had the shortest pre-adult period (7.71 ± 0.13 days). Longevity was significantly extended in mites reared on XLX, XT, and NY cultivars (25.95–26.83 days). Microbiota analysis via 16S rRNA sequencing showed that Proteobacteria dominated (>89.96% abundance) across all mite groups, with Wolbachia as the predominant symbiont (89.58–99.19%). Male mites exhibited higher bacterial diversity (Shannon and Chao1 indices) than females, though Wolbachia abundance did not differ significantly between sexes or cultivars. Functional predictions highlighted roles of microbiota in biosynthesis, detoxification, and energy metabolism. These findings underscore the influence of host plant variety on T. urticae fitness and microbiota composition, suggesting potential strategies for breeding resistant strawberry cultivars and leveraging microbial interactions for pest management. Full article

The water-soluble extract from vermicompost, also known as vermicompost tea (VT), has attracted interest in sustainable production research due to its potential to increase crop yields. However, information regarding the influence of this bioinput on strawberry cultivation remains limited. This study aimed to evaluate the effects of different VT solution concentrations on the mass fruit, physiology, and fruit quality of the hybrid strawberry cultivar ‘Portola’. The experiment was conducted in a greenhouse, with foliar and substrate applications of VT solutions at varying concentrations (0%, 2%, 4%, 6% and 8%) over 150 days. Evaluations included the chemical composition of the VT, as well as the physiological and agronomic parameters of the strawberry plants, such as gas exchange, biometric data, the physicochemical quality of the fruit and the nutritional composition. Significant differences in gas exchange parameters, particularly intercellular CO₂ concentration and stomatal conductance, were observed at the final growth stage. Of the quality and compositional parameters of the strawberries, only the soluble solids/titratable acidity (SS/TA) ratio was affected. The various VT dilutions induced physiological alterations in the strawberry plants, with energy being allocated towards mass fruit at the expense of fruit quality, specifically in terms of the SS/TA ratio. Full article

Strawberries have a short shelf-life leading to food loss and waste when production unexpectedly exceeds demand. PGRs may have potential to delay production and reduce food loss and waste, but no PGRs are available for delaying strawberry production. The aim of this preliminary study was to investigate re-purposing a stomatal blocking film antitranspirant polymer as a PGR to temporarily delay production. Poly-1-p-menthene or water was applied during early fruit ripening in two glasshouse experiments, one on a June-bearer cultivar and one on an everbearer cultivar. Ripe strawberries were harvested during the next 23 days, the cumulative yield was recorded, and the production curves were fitted using polynomial regression in groups. The statistical analysis showed that cubic polynomial regression curves could be fitted separately to each treatment. Application of the blocker delayed the production of both cultivars by 1–2 days during the period of rapid berry production. The delay diminished and cumulative yield returned to the water-treated value by 13 and 18 days after application in the June-bearer and everbearer cultivars, respectively. At 23 days after application, the blocker gave 8% greater cumulative yield in the June-bearer, but not in the everbearer. It was concluded that, if a greater delay could be achieved, there may be potential to use stomatal blockers as PGRs in some cultivars of strawberry to delay production and reduce food loss and waste when unanticipated lower demand occurs. Full article

Climate change challenges existing strawberry cultivars, requiring adaptation and the introduction of new varieties better suited to new climate conditions. This research evaluated the response over time of new advanced breeding selections (AN15,07,53, AN16,53,54 and AN12,44,60) derived from intraspecific crosses, proposed for the Mediterranean environment and organic greenhouse cultivation, by comparing plant yield and fruit quality at each harvest stage against five commercial strawberry cultivars (Dina, Arwen, Melissa, Marimbella, and Elide). Results showed that Dina, AN15,07,53, and AN16,53,54 had higher levels of soluble sugars, organic acids, and anthocyanins than the other cultivars evaluated. In addition, AN16,53,54 showed anticipated peak production and plant yield similar to that of commercial cultivars. Elide showed on average the highest total yield (632 g plant⁻¹), while Dina, AN15,07,53 and AN12,44,60 showed lower yields. The lowest and highest percentages of discarded fruits were recorded in Arwen (10%) and AN 12,44,60 (27.7%), respectively. Two genotypes, AN16,53,54 and AN15,07,53 are susceptible to further evaluation; AN16,53,54 showed appropriate features for organic systems management. An important feature related to the environmental conditions of the Mediterranean area is the precocity of production, combined with good quality properties. The genotype AN15,07,53 derived from two parents with high and low chilling requirements, would need to be evaluated for its performance under very different climatic conditions. Full article

The aim of this study was to investigate the preferences of young adults in the Polish apple market in response to the declining consumption of these fruits. To address the research questions, a study was conducted among young adults using a custom-designed online questionnaire. The research sample consisted of 729 participants. The data were analyzed using ANOVA, and due to the nature of the data, Wilcoxon tests were also employed to examine differences. The most frequently purchased fruits among young adults were bananas and apples; however, strawberries and raspberries were the most favored. The most preferred apple cultivars were bicolored (e.g., Jonagored) and red (e.g., Gala Royal), while yellow cultivars (e.g., Golden Delicious) were perceived as the least attractive. Young consumers favored apples that were juicy, firm, and moderately sweet. This study demonstrated that the skin color of an apple was associated with expectations regarding its firmness and sweetness. Apples with intense coloration (dark red and green) received the highest valuations, particularly when organically grown. In contrast, apples from conventional production systems were valued below their market price by young consumers, indicating the need for strategies aimed at enhancing their perceived value. Full article

The browning of fruit juices and nectars is a common issue in the beverage industry and is a particular problem in strawberry nectars, where it significantly reduces the shelf-life. Polyphenol oxidases (PPOs), which are multicopper enzymes responsible for the oxidation of a wide plethora of polyphenols in plants, have been widely assumed to be involved in the enzymatic browning of strawberry nectar. To investigate the possible involvement of PPOs, the substrate specificity of four recombinant PPOs and their gene expression pattern in 10 cultivars of Fragaria × ananassa at five ripening stages were determined. This allowed us to obtain adequate amounts of enzymes to study them independently and without interfering matrix effects. All four PPOs possess monophenolase activity, which was particularly high for PPO4. PPO3 did not show sufficient stability for the kinetic studies. The other three showed a high preference for the flavan 3-ol catechin with a 2-fold higher catalytic efficiency compared to dopamine for PPO1 and PPO2. At a neutral pH, they also showed activity with cyanidin but not with pelargonidin, which is the prevalent anthocyanidin type in strawberry. The enzymes showed a high affinity but only low turnover rates for the dihydrochalcone phloretin, resulting in an inhibitory effect that was strong enough to extend the shelf-life of the strawberry nectar by one week if phloretin was added in high concentrations (600 µM). PPO1 and PPO2 were prevalently expressed in all fruit stages. The gene expression of the four PPOs did not correlate with the color stability of the nectars of the 10 varieties and also showed a random expression pattern during fruit development. The limited activity in acidic conditions and the low substrate specificity for pelargonidin does not point to a crucial role for PPOs in the browning of strawberry nectar, but the high catalytic efficiency with catechin as a substrate could contribute to anthocyanin degradation via mechanisms such as copolymerization. Full article

This study investigated the impact of cultivar, harvest time, and ripening stage of strawberries on their aroma concentration and profile, and colour stability of nectars produced from these strawberries. Purees from 12 different cultivars from two countries, collected at different ripening stages and harvest times, were analysed. Furaneol and mesifuran content was analysed using a gas chromatography–flame ionisation detector (GC-FID), and gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (GC-MS) was used to determine the content of 12 aroma compounds, including esters, C6 compounds, and lactones. Nectars produced from these purees had their colour stability measured over 12 weeks. Both the colour and aroma were greatly influenced by strawberry cultivar. Within cultivars, nectars produced from strawberries that had been harvested overripe showed higher colour stability and higher concentrations of aroma compounds than those harvested ripe from an earlier harvest, although some cultivars were more affected by harvest time than ripening stage. Aroma compounds that correlated significantly (p < 0.05) with a good colour after storage included furaneol, ethyl butanoate, hexanal, γ-decalactone and γ-dodecalactone, as well as the total concentration of aroma compounds. Only γ-decalactone concentrations correlated significantly with overall nectar colour stability, although this could be due to cultivar effects. Full article

From 2013 to 2021, 112 binucleate Rhizoctonia spp. (BNR) isolates were obtained from the strawberry, tomato, pepper, bean, apple, cherry, meadow grass, and soil previously cropped with strawberries from 16 locations in Serbia. Morphological and molecular analyses (ITS, LSU rDNA, RPB2, tef-1α, and atp6) confirmed infections caused by four BNR AGs: AG-G on the cherry (globally new host), bean, and tomato; AG-U on meadow grass (globally new host) and apple, AG-A on the strawberry (the most frequently isolated), and AG-F on pepper. ITS sequence analysis revealed 24 haplotypes within the worldwide population of BNR AG-A, with Serbian isolates belonging to nine. The aggressiveness of AG-A (ten isolates), AG-G (three isolates), AG-F (one isolate), and AG-U (two isolates) was tested on seedlings of 14 hosts from Poaceae, Brassicaceae, Solanaceae, Asteraceae, Fabaceae, Cucurbitaceae, Apiaceae, and Chenopodiaceae, and on detached leaf petioles of the strawberry, tomato, sunflower, and bean, as well as on two pea cultivars. Sunflower and sugar beet were the most susceptible, with AG-G being the most aggressive and AG-A the least aggressive. AG-A could not infect cabbage, while at least one isolate of each remaining AG infected all tested hosts. The consistency between seedling and petiole tests highlights the latter as a rapid method for evaluating the pathogenicity and aggressiveness of BNR isolates. Full article

As an alternative to traditional red wine production during an economic crisis, we investigated the sensory perception and appreciation (liking) of young consumers for organic red grape juice from the Plantet cultivar (Seibel 5455) with or without the addition of sugar or organic acid. This was evaluated through four studies involving panels of young adults with an average age of 22 years. The goal was to determine how adding tartaric acid or hexoses (glucose and fructose) affected hedonic scores as well as gustatory and aromatic attributes. Surprisingly, adding acid to a must that experts deemed overly sweet (with 255 g/L of endogenous sugar in the control) did not improve liking scores. Similarly, the addition of hexoses did not enhance liking. Instead, natural grape juice, without any added sugar or acid, was the most preferred product among the young adult panelists. This preference was shared by a panel of enology students, who can be considered future key decision makers in the wine and juice industries, in the last study. As expected, the addition of hexoses led to a perception of ‘jam’ and ‘sweet’ attributes, while the addition of tartaric acid resulted in a more ‘acidic’ profile. Interestingly, the fruit attributes most associated with hexose addition were ‘apricot’ and ’strawberry’, whereas tartaric acid addition was most strongly associated with ‘raspberry’. Full article

Non-chemical methods of fertilisation and protection have been gaining importance in recent years. This trend is closely linked to current European Union (EU) agricultural policy and the growing consumer awareness of the impact of nutrition on health. Newly developed biopreparations have to be tested for their agricultural efficiency alongside a quality assessment of the resulting food. The aim of this study was to determine whether the use of newly developed microbially enriched fertilisers in organic strawberry cultivation had an effect on fruit chemical composition and heavy metal accumulation. In the research, five biopreparations (K2–K6 combinations) containing selected Bacillus strains and plant extracts were tested in 2021 and 2022 on three strawberry cultivars: ‘Honeoye’, ‘Rumba’, and ‘Vibrant’. After the vegetation period, the collected fruit samples were frozen, freeze-dried, and subjected to chemical analyses to determine the total carbon and nitrogen content, as well as the concentration of microelements (Mn, Fe), macroelements (Na, Mg, K, Ca, P) and heavy metals (Cd, Pb, Cu, and Zn). The application of the tested biopreparations did not significantly impact the total carbon content of strawberry fruit. For most of the tested traits, cultivars reacted differently to the tested preparations. A higher total nitrogen content was found for treatments treated with biopreparations, especially for the ‘Vibrant’ cultivar—ranging from 15.2 g·kg⁻¹ K2 (BacilRoots) to 16.3 g·kg⁻¹ K3 (BacilRoots + BacilExtra) and K5 (BacilRoots + BacilExtra + BacilHumus)—being about 10–18% higher than on the control object (K1). The content of sodium, phosphorus, calcium, and magnesium did not change significantly under the influence of biopreparations. The use of the K3 and K5 treatment resulted in significantly lower iron contents when compared to those of the control (strawberries sprayed with water with no biopreparations added)—respectively, by 16.1% and 17.9%. ‘Vibrant’ treated with water (control treatment) showed the highest contents of iron, copper, and zinc when compared to those treated with biopreparations. No exceedances of the permissible heavy metal content were found in the samples tested. Full article

Neopestalotiopsis spp. are emerging fungal pathogens associated with leaf spot, fruit rot, crown rot, and root rot in strawberries. Despite their endophytic lifestyle, global outbreaks of these pathogens have been reported over the past few years, causing severe economic losses in commercial strawberry production. Resistance has been reported against the chemical fungicides used to manage Neopestalotiopsis spp. This review comprehensively examines the epidemiology, biology, and infection mechanisms of Neopestalotiopsis spp. on strawberries. Recent advances in management strategies, including biological control agents and resistant strawberry cultivars, have also been highlighted. By integrating these approaches, this work aims to provide a foundation for sustainable management practices to mitigate the impact of Neopestalotiopsis spp. on strawberry production. Full article

Research was conducted to examine the marketable yield and fruit weight of six strawberry cultivars (Fragaria × ananassa Duch. ‘Festival’, ‘Fortuna’, ‘Brilliance’, ‘Red Rhapsody’, ‘Sundrench’ and ‘Suzie’) over two years in subtropical Queensland, Australia. In the first year, the transplants were planted on 30 March, while in the second year, they were planted on 22 April. The average daily minimum temperature was 3 °C higher than the long-term average for the area from 1965 to 1990, while the average daily maximum temperature was 1 °C higher. Temperatures and solar radiation were similar in the two years of the study. In contrast, it was wetter in the second year (478 mm) than in the first year (332 mm). Average yield was lower in the second year (142 ± 10 g/plant) than in the first year (330 ± 9 g/plant) (p < 0.001), possibly due to a later planting. Higher rainfall in the second year may have also contributed to a higher incidence of rain damage and fruit rots. Yield was lower in ‘Sundrench’ (176 g/plant) than in the other cultivars (235 to 252 g/plant) (p = 0.003). Fruit weight was lower in the second year (18.2 g) than in the first year (23.8 g) (p < 0.001), and lower in ‘Festival’ and ‘Fortuna’ (18.2 and 19.4 g), intermediate in ‘Brilliance’, ‘Red Rhapsody’ and ‘Sundrench’ (21.0, 21.3 and 21.8 g) and higher in ‘Suzie’ (24.3 g) (p < 0.001). These results demonstrate that yield and fruit size vary in cultivars in Queensland. ‘Suzie’ had the largest fruit, favoring marketing. The low productivity of ‘Sundrench’ suggests that this cultivar is not commercially viable in Queensland. Yields are expected to decline in the future under global warming, in the absence of better-adapted cultivars and other mitigating strategies. Further evaluations of cultivars in Queensland are required under different growing practices, including earlier times of planting, higher plant densities, light shade and protected cropping. Full article

Water scarcity is an ecological issue affecting over 10% of Europe. It is intensified by rising temperatures, leading to greater evaporation and reduced precipitation. Agriculture has been confirmed as the sector accounting for the highest water consumption globally, and it faces significant challenges relating to drought, impacting crop yields and food security. Sustainable practices, precision irrigation, and the development of drought-resistant crops are essential for the mitigation of this threat. Effective, innovative solutions are crucial for optimizing water use for intensive crops such as cultivated strawberries (Fragaria × ananassa). This study emphasizes the importance of identifying the genotypes most resilient to low water availability. Experimental trials involving reduced irrigation levels were set up to identify genotypes with a greater capacity to increase fruit quality and maintain fruit yield. Reduced water conditions positively influenced strawberry fruit quality, exhibiting improved citric acid, soluble solids, and color brightness linked to decreased water use, while firmness remained stable. Notably, the total phenolic content was most affected by stress, indicating strong antioxidant responses. With these interesting variations in fruit quality came a different response in plant yield. Plants belonging to the Lauretta and AN15,07,53 cultivars maintained a 98% fruit yield when grown under WS1 conditions. While the yield for the Francesca cultivar increased by 10% under the stressed WS1 conditions in comparison to the control conditions, water stress in the WS2 treatment caused a strong reduction in yield in all three genotypes. Overall, the findings emphasize the importance of identifying for each new cultivar the most appropriate water regime in order to amplify the quality of the fruit, thus maintaining high production standards and saving water. Full article

The European pepper moth, Duponchelia fovealis (Lepidoptera: Crambidae), is a key pest to strawberries in America and Europe. Understanding its behavior in the field can support integrated management strategies. In this work, field surveys were conducted to confirm the presence of this pest in commercial areas within the State of Paraná (Brazil) and to determine on which plant organ it prevailed. Semi-field experiments evaluated oviposition preference as a function of strawberry cultivar. Based on pest behavior, insecticide distribution was assessed following conventional field applications. Our results determined that D. fovealis spread within a 400 km radius from the site in which it was first recorded in Paraná, and the infested area reached 68.2% by the end of the survey. This species concentrated on basal leaves and crowns, where more than 90% of the larvae were collected. Moreover, the number of eggs per plant was significantly higher in the ‘Albion’ cultivar. The sprayed insecticide remained in the upper and middle thirds of the strawberry plant canopy, not reaching the organs where D. fovealis larvae were mainly detected. This study provides useful information on the cryptic habit of this pest that may help in designing efficient monitoring and control strategies. Full article