Yield and Sensorial and Nutritional Quality of Strawberry (<i>Fragaria</i> × <i>ananassa</i> Duch.) Fruits from Plants Grown Under Different Amounts of Irrigation in Soilless Cultivation
Water scarcity is an ecological issue affecting over 10% of Europe. It is intensified by rising temperatures, leading to greater evaporation and reduced precipitation. Agriculture has been confirmed as the sector accounting for the highest water consumption globally, and it faces significant challen...
Saved in:
| Main Authors: | , , , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
MDPI AG
2025-01-01
|
| Series: | Plants |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2223-7747/14/2/286 |
| Tags: |
Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
|
| _version_ | 1832587638850191360 |
|---|---|
| author | Davide Raffaelli Rohullah Qaderi Luca Mazzoni Bruno Mezzetti Franco Capocasa |
| author_facet | Davide Raffaelli Rohullah Qaderi Luca Mazzoni Bruno Mezzetti Franco Capocasa |
| author_sort | Davide Raffaelli |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Water scarcity is an ecological issue affecting over 10% of Europe. It is intensified by rising temperatures, leading to greater evaporation and reduced precipitation. Agriculture has been confirmed as the sector accounting for the highest water consumption globally, and it faces significant challenges relating to drought, impacting crop yields and food security. Sustainable practices, precision irrigation, and the development of drought-resistant crops are essential for the mitigation of this threat. Effective, innovative solutions are crucial for optimizing water use for intensive crops such as cultivated strawberries (<i>Fragaria</i> × <i>ananassa</i>). This study emphasizes the importance of identifying the genotypes most resilient to low water availability. Experimental trials involving reduced irrigation levels were set up to identify genotypes with a greater capacity to increase fruit quality and maintain fruit yield. Reduced water conditions positively influenced strawberry fruit quality, exhibiting improved citric acid, soluble solids, and color brightness linked to decreased water use, while firmness remained stable. Notably, the total phenolic content was most affected by stress, indicating strong antioxidant responses. With these interesting variations in fruit quality came a different response in plant yield. Plants belonging to the Lauretta and AN15,07,53 cultivars maintained a 98% fruit yield when grown under WS1 conditions. While the yield for the Francesca cultivar increased by 10% under the stressed WS1 conditions in comparison to the control conditions, water stress in the WS2 treatment caused a strong reduction in yield in all three genotypes. Overall, the findings emphasize the importance of identifying for each new cultivar the most appropriate water regime in order to amplify the quality of the fruit, thus maintaining high production standards and saving water. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-4eb9237049c24bb38fdd5e72d35a297e |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 2223-7747 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-01-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Plants |
| spelling | doaj-art-4eb9237049c24bb38fdd5e72d35a297e2025-01-24T13:47:06ZengMDPI AGPlants2223-77472025-01-0114228610.3390/plants14020286Yield and Sensorial and Nutritional Quality of Strawberry (<i>Fragaria</i> × <i>ananassa</i> Duch.) Fruits from Plants Grown Under Different Amounts of Irrigation in Soilless CultivationDavide Raffaelli0Rohullah Qaderi1Luca Mazzoni2Bruno Mezzetti3Franco Capocasa4Department of Agricultural, Food and Environmental Sciences, Università Politecnica delle Marche (UNIVPM), Via Brecce Bianche 10, 60131 Ancona, ItalyDepartment of Agricultural, Food and Environmental Sciences, Università Politecnica delle Marche (UNIVPM), Via Brecce Bianche 10, 60131 Ancona, ItalyDepartment of Agricultural, Food and Environmental Sciences, Università Politecnica delle Marche (UNIVPM), Via Brecce Bianche 10, 60131 Ancona, ItalyDepartment of Agricultural, Food and Environmental Sciences, Università Politecnica delle Marche (UNIVPM), Via Brecce Bianche 10, 60131 Ancona, ItalyDepartment of Agricultural, Food and Environmental Sciences, Università Politecnica delle Marche (UNIVPM), Via Brecce Bianche 10, 60131 Ancona, ItalyWater scarcity is an ecological issue affecting over 10% of Europe. It is intensified by rising temperatures, leading to greater evaporation and reduced precipitation. Agriculture has been confirmed as the sector accounting for the highest water consumption globally, and it faces significant challenges relating to drought, impacting crop yields and food security. Sustainable practices, precision irrigation, and the development of drought-resistant crops are essential for the mitigation of this threat. Effective, innovative solutions are crucial for optimizing water use for intensive crops such as cultivated strawberries (<i>Fragaria</i> × <i>ananassa</i>). This study emphasizes the importance of identifying the genotypes most resilient to low water availability. Experimental trials involving reduced irrigation levels were set up to identify genotypes with a greater capacity to increase fruit quality and maintain fruit yield. Reduced water conditions positively influenced strawberry fruit quality, exhibiting improved citric acid, soluble solids, and color brightness linked to decreased water use, while firmness remained stable. Notably, the total phenolic content was most affected by stress, indicating strong antioxidant responses. With these interesting variations in fruit quality came a different response in plant yield. Plants belonging to the Lauretta and AN15,07,53 cultivars maintained a 98% fruit yield when grown under WS1 conditions. While the yield for the Francesca cultivar increased by 10% under the stressed WS1 conditions in comparison to the control conditions, water stress in the WS2 treatment caused a strong reduction in yield in all three genotypes. Overall, the findings emphasize the importance of identifying for each new cultivar the most appropriate water regime in order to amplify the quality of the fruit, thus maintaining high production standards and saving water.https://www.mdpi.com/2223-7747/14/2/286<i>Fragaria</i> × <i>ananassa</i>strawberrysoillessnutritional qualityyieldwater management |
| spellingShingle | Davide Raffaelli Rohullah Qaderi Luca Mazzoni Bruno Mezzetti Franco Capocasa Yield and Sensorial and Nutritional Quality of Strawberry (<i>Fragaria</i> × <i>ananassa</i> Duch.) Fruits from Plants Grown Under Different Amounts of Irrigation in Soilless Cultivation Plants <i>Fragaria</i> × <i>ananassa</i> strawberry soilless nutritional quality yield water management |
| title | Yield and Sensorial and Nutritional Quality of Strawberry (<i>Fragaria</i> × <i>ananassa</i> Duch.) Fruits from Plants Grown Under Different Amounts of Irrigation in Soilless Cultivation |
| title_full | Yield and Sensorial and Nutritional Quality of Strawberry (<i>Fragaria</i> × <i>ananassa</i> Duch.) Fruits from Plants Grown Under Different Amounts of Irrigation in Soilless Cultivation |
| title_fullStr | Yield and Sensorial and Nutritional Quality of Strawberry (<i>Fragaria</i> × <i>ananassa</i> Duch.) Fruits from Plants Grown Under Different Amounts of Irrigation in Soilless Cultivation |
| title_full_unstemmed | Yield and Sensorial and Nutritional Quality of Strawberry (<i>Fragaria</i> × <i>ananassa</i> Duch.) Fruits from Plants Grown Under Different Amounts of Irrigation in Soilless Cultivation |
| title_short | Yield and Sensorial and Nutritional Quality of Strawberry (<i>Fragaria</i> × <i>ananassa</i> Duch.) Fruits from Plants Grown Under Different Amounts of Irrigation in Soilless Cultivation |
| title_sort | yield and sensorial and nutritional quality of strawberry i fragaria i i ananassa i duch fruits from plants grown under different amounts of irrigation in soilless cultivation |
| topic | <i>Fragaria</i> × <i>ananassa</i> strawberry soilless nutritional quality yield water management |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2223-7747/14/2/286 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT davideraffaelli yieldandsensorialandnutritionalqualityofstrawberryifragariaiiananassaiduchfruitsfromplantsgrownunderdifferentamountsofirrigationinsoillesscultivation AT rohullahqaderi yieldandsensorialandnutritionalqualityofstrawberryifragariaiiananassaiduchfruitsfromplantsgrownunderdifferentamountsofirrigationinsoillesscultivation AT lucamazzoni yieldandsensorialandnutritionalqualityofstrawberryifragariaiiananassaiduchfruitsfromplantsgrownunderdifferentamountsofirrigationinsoillesscultivation AT brunomezzetti yieldandsensorialandnutritionalqualityofstrawberryifragariaiiananassaiduchfruitsfromplantsgrownunderdifferentamountsofirrigationinsoillesscultivation AT francocapocasa yieldandsensorialandnutritionalqualityofstrawberryifragariaiiananassaiduchfruitsfromplantsgrownunderdifferentamountsofirrigationinsoillesscultivation |