Effect of Chitosan and Micro-Carbon-Based Phosphorus Fertilizer on Strawberry Growth and Productivity

Abstract

High fertilization rates and pesticides are required for the intensive production of strawberries, which offer several therapeutic health benefits. Recently, chitosan (CHI), and phosphorus fertilizer based on Micro Carbon TechnologyTM (MCT-P) were applied to encourage strawberry sustainable production and enhance phosphorus-use efficiency. Field trials were conducted throughout 2020/2021 and 2021/2022, to evaluate the effectiveness of MCT–P and CHI in improving strawberry cv. Fortuna growth and yield as well as their quality. Foliar spraying of CHI and MCT-P considerably improved strawberry plant growth (i.e., plant height, secondary crown number per plant, leaf number and area per plant, and foliage fresh weight), photosynthetic pigment concentration (chlorophylla, chlorophyllb, and carotenoids), as well as its yield and quality (early fruit yield, total yield, average fruit weight, fruit firmness, fruit dry matter %, soluble solid content, total sugars (%), ascorbic acid, acidity, and anthocyanin). Compared to untreated plants, 1200 mgL−1 MCT-P and 1000 mg/L CHI supplementation was the most effective concentration for improving all studied characteristics. The interaction between CHI and MCT-P had a greater impact on all examined characteristics. It is recommended to spray strawberry cv. Fortuna with 1200 mg/L MCT-P plus 1000 mg/L CHI every two weeks, from 60 days after transplanting until two weeks before the end of harvesting season for the best fruit yield and quality.

Assisting the Planning of Harvesting Plans for Large Strawberry Fields through Image-Processing Method Based on Deep Learning

“…Failure to harvest in a timely manner will lead to excessive maturity of strawberries, decreased overall quality, and easy decay [4]. Strawberry growers need to frequently observe the growth of strawberries in farmland to plan harvesting decisions [5]. Therefore, it is necessary to study a method to quickly obtain the overall growth information of strawberry fields during the harvesting stage, provide growth status information, assist in planning the harvesting plan, ensure that strawberries are harvested in a timely manner at the appropriate stage during the peak harvest period, and improve product quality.…”

Different Oligosaccharides Induce Coordination and Promotion of Root Growth and Leaf Senescence during Strawberry and Cucumber Growth

“…In recent years, exogenous green ecological preparations have frequently been applied in facility production to alleviate the adverse damage caused by negative conditions through the regulation of plant growth, the increase in disease resistance and immunity, and finally, the enhancement of quality and growth in yield [6][7][8]. This approach is regarded as a primary technical solution to the aforementioned production challenges with relatively minimal investment and rapid outcomes.…”

“…Many studies have confirmed that oligosaccharides, as plant growth regulators, can regulate physiological and biochemical reactions in plant cells when exposed to biotic or abiotic stresses [9][10][11]. Recently, chitosan, a type of polysaccharide, has been widely used on facility crops due to its antibacterial, non-toxic, and environmentally friendly characteristics [6,7,12]. Chitosan is a polymer composed of several thousand glucosamine units, extracted from chitin (a N-acetylglucosamine polymer) in shrimp and crab shells following deacetylation under alkaline conditions.…”

“…Metwaly et al [7] revealed that foliar spray of chitosan could improve strawberry plant growth and yield, resulting in increased plant height, leaf number per plant, leaf area, chlorophyll content, and single fruit weight. Chitosan can also reduce the cold damage to cucumber plants and promote increases in length, mean diameter, surface area, volume, and vitality of roots, and regulate the accumulation of aboveground dry matter [11].…”

Effects of chitosan on growth and physiological changes associated adaptation of in vitro obtained banana plantlets to ex vitro conditions

“…Chitosan can be used as antitranspirant and stimulate the physiological responses to mitigate the adverse effects of abiotic stresses through enhancement of antioxidant enzymes, photosynthetic rate and stomatal closure (O'Herlihy et al, 2003;El-Mougy et al, 2006;Hidangmayum et al, 2019). In addition, chitosan stimulates the production of osmotic adjustment compounds such as organic acids, sugars and amino acids (Hidangmayum et al, 2019) leading to improve plant health and yields (Metwaly et al, 2023). Since chitosan can inhibit the growth of different pathogens (Vasyukova et al, 2001), it can be used as alternative to chemical fungicides (O'Herlihy et al, 2003).…”