Summary of Plant biostimulants: The increasing demand for high-quality strawberries highlights the need for innovative agricultural strategies to enhance both yield and fruit quality. In this context, natural products like biostimulants have emerged as a promising solution, supporting sustainable and eco-friendly farming practices while improving strawberry production. This study examines the effects of a bacterial filtrate (BF), a plant-derived protein hydrolysate (PH), and a standard synthetic auxin (SA) on strawberries, assessing their impact on yield, fruit quality, mineral composition, and metabolomics of leaves and fruits.
Agronomic trials demonstrated that SA and BF significantly boosted early fruit yield by positively influencing flowering and fruit set, while PH treatment promoted a more gradual and prolonged fruit set, leading to increased shoot biomass and sustained production. Fruit quality analysis revealed that PH-treated strawberries had greater firmness and higher soluble solids content, whereas SA-treated fruits exhibited lower firmness and soluble solids levels.
Ionomic analysis confirmed that all treatments provided sufficient nutrients, with heavy metal concentrations remaining within regulatory limits. Metabolomic profiling indicated that PH stimulated primary metabolite production, while SA and BF played a key role in flavonoid and anthocyanin biosynthesis. Additionally, PH contributed to improved fruit quality by enhancing beneficial metabolite production.
These findings offer valuable insights into optimizing strawberry cultivation by leveraging natural biostimulants as effective alternatives to synthetic compounds.
Publication: Frontiers in Plant Science
