The phytochemical characteristic analysis of a group of 30 haskap berry genotypes was carried out bearing in mind the concern for the consumption of food with high nutraceutical value that helps maintain good health. Phytochemical fruit composition and antioxidant activity were assessed by the Folin–Ciocalteau, spectrophotometric, DPPH (1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl) as well as ABTS (2,2′-azino-bis(3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulfonic acid) method. Evaluation of antioxidant activity was referred to as the Trolox equivalent. The observed differences in the content of phenolics, flavonoids, vitamin C and antioxidant activity allowed us to select genotypes which, due to the high level of the analyzed compounds, are particularly recommended in everyone’s diet. In addition, the analysis of the prospects of increasing the analyzed phytochemical properties, estimated by parameters such as heritability and genetic progress, indicates the effectiveness of breeding in relation to each of the analyzed traits. The results of the presented research can be used in the implementation of future breeding programs for this valuable species.

In vitro cloning or micropropagation is a simple and rapid method to obtain healthy and genetically-uniform plants, therefore it is widely used in horticulture. For the practical application of micropropagation, an efficient plant regeneration system is required. Nevertheless, the efficiency of micropropagation is difficult to predict due to its polygenic mode of inheritance and can only be assessed after several cycles of in vitro sub-culture. In practice, it would be useful to be able to predict the outcome of in vitro regeneration in advance, on the basis of an easy-to-assess plant trait, associated with efficient in vitro propagation. In this study, an attempt has been made to identify those components that affect efficient in vitro cloning in 22 genotypes of strawberry. Associations between three in vitro traits (i.e., the number of microplants formed per explant, and their fresh and dry weights) and 18 quantitative plant characteristics of agronomic importance were calculated by correlation and path coefficient analysis. The results showed that the efficiency of in vitro cloning in strawberry was a complex polygenic trait affected by several quantitative plant characteristics. Path coefficient analysis revealed that plant height, the number of runners per plant, fruit yield per plant, and pollen viability had the highest positive direct path effects on the number of microplants formed per explant, with coefficient values of 0.132, 0.254, 0.242, and 0.206, respectively. Other characteristics such as plant height, the length of the mid-leaf, and the thickness of the runners had the greatest direct path effects on the weight of microplants with coefficients of 0.836, 0.291, and 0.291, respectively. These components were the best predictors of the efficiency of in vitro regeneration and could be used as selection criteria to facilitate the identification of strawberry genotypes for which micropropagation would be most effective.

The study of chlorophyll fluorescence (CF) parameters i.e.: Fo, Fm, Fv/Fm, Y, qP, qN, F’o, F’m was conducted in two strawberry cultivars ‘Honeoye’ and

The soil pathogenic fungus Phytophthora cactorum causes the most dangerous diseases occurring in strawberry plantations—strawberry crown rot and leather rot. Modern biotechnology methods, e.g., in vitro culture selection and molecular diagnostics can be utilized in the selection of cultivars that are less susceptible or resistant to Phytophthora diseases. In this study, in vitro selection of four strawberry microclones: ‘Elsanta’, ‘Feltar’, ‘Teresa’ and ‘Plena SVdT’ against Phytophthora cactorum (Lebert and Cohn) J. Schröt was carried out. Molecular analysis with inter simple sequence repeat (ISSR) markers was also used to evaluate genetic similarity of the selected resistant plants. None of the analyzed microclones showed complete resistance to the selection factor, but there were plants in all tested microclones that survived the pressure of the pathogen. Results showed that susceptibility to this pathogenic fungus was significantly differentiated and depended on the microclone. The ‘Feltar’ microclone had the significantly lowest susceptibility to Phytophthora disease, followed by the microclones ‘Elsanta’ and ‘Teresa’ with significantly higher susceptibility. The ‘Plena SVdT’ microclone showed the highest susceptibility to Phytophthora disease. This differentiation was linked to the genetic similarity observed at deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) level between the resistant plants selected from microclones. Cluster analysis revealed that microclones with similar susceptibility to phytophthorosis, i.e., ‘Elsanta’, ‘Feltar’ and ‘Teresa’, appeared to be genetically similar. The microclone ‘Plena SVdT’ revealed a different course of phytophthorosis from the aforementioned microclones, being the least genetically similar to them.

Verticillium wilt caused by pathogenic soil fungus – Vertcillium dahliae Kleb. is one of the most serious strawberry diseases not treated chemically. The strawberry is a species more or less susceptible to Verticillium sp., hence the need to select new genetically resistant cultivars. In this study, susceptibility of four strawberry cultivars to Verticillium wilt was examined under in vitro selection conditions as regards the genetic similarity of selected resistant plants. Microplants of 4 strawberry subclones obtained by in vitro cloning of each cultivar were inoculated in vitro with liquid mycelial homogenate of the pathogen. Development of disease symptoms was observed after 15, 30, 45, 60 and 75 days post inoculation. Results revealed differences of susceptibility to V. dahliae which depended on the subclone. The least susceptible to Verticillium wilt turned out to be ‘Plena’ subclone, followed by the ‘Elsanta’, ‘Feltar’ and ‘Teresa’ subclones. The highest genetic similarity of 59% was found between ‘Elsanta’ and ‘Teresa’ subclones, which after 75 days from inoculation were also characterized by a very similar percentage of resistant plants.