Effects Induced by the Agricultural Application of Probiotics on Antioxidant Potential of Strawberries

Abstract

With the recent rapid development of the functional food sector, agriculture is looking for alternatives to improve the quality of food grown by limiting chemical fertilizers. This study evaluated the effects of two commercial plant probiotics, ProbioHumus and NaturGel, on the growth and quality of strawberry fruits. Strawberry plants were sprayed with microbial probiotics twice a year: after harvesting at the beginning of dormancy and at the stage of leaf development. Spray applications of ProbioHumus, NaturGel, and NaturGel + ProbioHumus in the organic farm fields significantly increased the fresh fruit weight up to 42%, 35%, and 37%, respectively, compared to the non-treated control. An increase in the weight of fresh strawberry fruits may be associated with an increase in dry matter accumulation. The probiotics had a positive effect on the total content of phenols, anthocyanins, and especially ascorbic acid in strawberry fruits. The increase in ascorbic acid in strawberry fruits was up to 97% compared to the non-treated control. The fruits from plants inoculated with probiotics showed significantly higher antioxidant activity. In summary, ProbioHumus and NaturGel are effective tools for improving the quality of strawberries and can be exploited in sustainable agriculture as a tool for adding value to functional food.

Rich in Phenolics—Strong Antioxidant Fruit? Comparative Study of 25 Strawberry Cultivars

“…In the present study, total anthocyanin content (TACY) was superior in 'Sandra' cultivar with a value of 30.60 mg eq Pg-3-g 100 g −1 FW, followed by 'Arianna' and 'Vivaldi' (26.05 and 24.92 mg eq Pg-3-g 100 g −1 FW, respectively). These results are comparable to the content of anthocyanins determined by other authors in various strawberry cultivars [32,33]. In contrast, an extremely low TACY value was recorded in 'Jeny' (3.08 mg eq Pg-3-g 100 g −1 FW).…”

Influence of Irrigation Water Acidity, Chemical Fertilizer and Propagation Method on the Contents of Nutrient Elements of Strawberry (Fragaria x ananassa Duch.) cv. Festival

“…As for the percentage of total acidity in fruits (table 2) and the content of fruits from nitrates (table 5), the results clearly indicate their decrease when the nutritional status of the plant is good, which was positively reflected on the indicators of the qualitative characteristics of the aforementioned fruits, which contributed to reducing the total acidity and nitrate content in ripe fruits As pointed out by (17) and the fruits were in the highest content of nitrates when compared to irrigation water and chemical fertilization. This may be due to the absence of ammonium HN + 4 that is added to the soil in the form of urea fertilizer, which competes with nitrates NO3and its absorption decreases by increasing ammonia in the soil solution, and because the representation of ammonia is very fast.…”

Establishment and Validation of a New Analysis Strategy for the Study of Plant Endophytic Microorganisms

“…Microorganisms are the most abundant and diverse biological resources on Earth [1], and endophytic microorganisms are commonly found in the roots [2], stems [3], leaves [4], flowers [5], fruits [6], seeds [7], and other tissues of plants. They can establish a relatively stable symbiotic and synergistic relationship with plants, and play a variety of roles in plants, such as nitrogen fixation, siderophore, stress resistance, and the promotion of phosphorus and potassium absorption [8][9][10][11].…”