Plant biostimulants as natural alternatives to synthetic auxins in strawberry production: physiological and metabolic insights.

The demand for high-quality strawberries continues to grow, emphasizing the need for innovative agricultural practices to enhance both yield and fruit quality. In this context, the utilization of natural products, such as biostimulants, has emerged as a promising avenue for improving strawberry production while aligning with sustainable and eco-friendly agricultural approaches. This study explores the influence of a bacterial filtrate (BF), a vegetal-derived protein hydrolysate (PH), and a standard synthetic auxin (SA) on strawberry, investigating their effects on yield, fruit quality, mineral composition and metabolomics of leaves and fruits. Agronomic trial revealed that SA and BF significantly enhanced early fruit yield due to their positive influence on flowering and fruit set, while PH treatment favored a gradual and prolonged fruit set, associated with an increased shoot biomass and sustained production. Fruit quality analysis showed that PH-treated fruits exhibited an increase of firmness and soluble solids content, whereas SA-treated fruits displayed lower firmness and soluble solids content. The ionomic analysis of leaves and fruits indicated that all treatments provided sufficient nutrients, with heavy metals within regulatory limits. Metabolomics indicated that PH stimulated primary metabolites, while SA and BF directly affected flavonoid and anthocyanin biosynthesis, and PH increased fruit quality through enhanced production of beneficial metabolites. This research offers valuable insights for optimizing strawberry production and fruit quality by harnessing the potential of natural biostimulants as viable alternative to synthetic compounds.

Informations de copyright

Copyright © 2024 Cardarelli, El Chami, Rouphael, Ciriello, Bonini, Erice, Cirino, Basile, Corrado, Choi, Kim and Colla.

Déclaration de conflit d'intérêts

Two authors are from Atens Company Spain who manufactured a tested product. However, they were not involved in the trial management at Tuscia University (Italy), measurements, and analysis, interpretation of the results. They role was mainly in the manuscript writing. The author(s) declared that they were an editorial board member of Frontiers, at the time of submission. This had no impact on the peer review process and the final decision.