Productivity and quality of organic strawberries pre-harvest treated with silicon

Abstract

Mineral nutrients have important role in plant metabolism, acting on specific vital metabolic pathways for the cell. Among the nutrients, we highlight silicon (Si), for promoting growth, improving post-harvest quality and plant productivity, as well as being able to induce resistance to pest and disease. In this sense, this study aimed to evaluate the productivity and post-harvest quality of strawberry fruits cultivars Aromas and Albion cultivated in organic system with four doses of foliar applications of SiO2 in pre-harvest (0, 5, 10, 15 g L-1), and refrigerated storage (8 days under refrigeration and 1 day at room temperature). The valuated traits were: mass loss, fruit mass, productivity, fruit firmness, soluble solids, titratable acidity, total phenolics, total anthocyanins, ascorbic acid and soluble solids titratable acidity ratio. The cultivar Aromas presented higher productivity per area (33.05 t ha-1), and more fruits per plot (479.42); however, higher average fruit mass was obtained in cultivar Albion (24.44 g), presenting better-quality fruits for fresh market. Soluble solids content, SS/TA ratio and ascorbic acid content were not influenced by silicon doses, however, refrigeration during 8 days and 1 day at room temperature provided reduction of fruit firmness, titratable acidity and, ascorbic acid content and increased soluble solids content and SS/TA ratio. Refrigeration attenuated significant reductions in anthocyanin content and, in addition, foliar silicon application promoted higher levels of anthocyanins in the fruits of both strawberry cultivars, increasing with the applied dose. The application of silicon was also efficient in maintaining fruit firmness of both cultivars.

Maturation of 'Baigent' apples protected by anti-hail nets and sprayed with aminoethoxyvinylglycine and ethephon

“…In the 2015/2016 season, TA did not differ between AVG treatments, combined or not with ethephon, and the control. It should be noted that the SS/AT ratio represents the balance between the contents of acids and sugars in fruits, conditioned by the balance between taste and aroma (Munaretto et al, 2018). Regarding this ratio, there was no effect of pre-harvest treatments in both seasons.…”

Agronomic, Physiological, and Post-Harvest Aspects of Different Blueberry Cultivars Treated with Silicon

“…One study reported an increase in strawberry mass (Silva et al, 2013). Meanwhile, another study reported no difference (Munaretto et al, 2018). Other studies also reported that the application of Si increased fruit yield in strawberry (Silva et al, 2013) and tomato (Marodin et al, 2014).…”

“…The application of Si has beneficial effects on many fruit crops, but there is still little information about the effect of Si on blueberry. The application of Si in passion fruit (Passiflora edulis) increased the photosynthetic rate of the plant (Costa et al, 2018), and in strawberry (Fragaria × ananassa) its improved pulp firmness and increased the level of anthocyanins in fruits (Munaretto et al, 2018).…”

Multivariate analysis methods improve the selection of strawberry genotypes with low cold requirement

“…Camarosa has been reported as a highly productive cultivar, with large, firm, and tasty fruits 48 , being one of the most planted short-day cultivars in the world 49 . The presence of large number of favorable alleles in ‘Camarosa’ and ‘Aromas’ 33 and their high productive potential 50 , 51 make them promising parents for strawberry breeding programs 5 . Camargo et al 32 also found and selected the best hybrids coming from the crosses ‘Camarosa’ × ‘Aromas’ and ‘Camarosa’ × ‘Sweet Charlie’, concerning biochemical traits.…”