Strawberry fruit is a very rich source of vitamins and phenolic compounds, which determine its nutritional properties. Strawberries are a highly perishable non-climacteric fruit, and their perishable nature can lead to physical and chemical damage during storage. Therefore, the large market of fresh fruit relies on the capacity of fast distribution and marketing under a continuous cold-storage chain. In this study, we applied different cold-storage temperatures (domestic −20 °C and industrial −80 °C) on different treatments (whole fruits and dried fruits) of three strawberry cultivars (Arianna, Francesca, and Silvia), for up to seven months, and evaluated the influence of different storage conditions and lengths on the stability of the fruits’ nutritional compounds (vitamin C, phenolic acids, anthocyanins, and folate). The results show that the nutritional quality of the fruits was significantly affected by storage temperature (with −80 °C storage preserving more nutritional compounds), while storage time did not greatly affect the composition of the nutritional compounds in the whole or dried fruits. Oven drying the fruits dramatically affected their vitamin C content, almost completely degrading this compound (from 731.8 to 23.2 mg/kg at time 0 for fresh Arianna fruit, the cultivar with the highest amount). The amount of folate was increased during storage (from 126.17 at time 0 to 190.61 µg/kg at time 7 for fresh whole Arianna fruit). The interesting results obtained in this study are worth considering in future studies, to better plan fruit-storage conditions and time, for maintaining better fruit nutritional quality.

Strawberry is the most cultivated berry fruit globally and it is really appreciated by consumers because of its characteristics, mainly bioactive compounds with antioxidant properties. During the breeding process, it is important to assess the quality characteristics of the fruits for a better selection of the material, but the conventional approaches involve long and destructive lab techniques. Near infrared spectroscopy (NIR) could be considered a valid alternative for speeding up the breeding process and is not destructive. In this study, a total of 216 strawberry fruits belonging to four different cultivars have been collected and analyzed with conventional lab analysis and NIR spectroscopy. In detail, soluble solid content, acidity, vitamin C, anthocyanin, and phenolic acid have been determined. Partial least squares discriminant analysis (PLS-DA) models have been developed to classify strawberry fruits belonging to the four genotypes according to their quality and nutritional properties. NIR spectroscopy could be considered a valid non-destructive phenotyping method for monitoring the nutritional parameters of the fruit and ensuring the fruit quality, speeding up the breeding program.

Strawberry fruits are particularly appreciated by consumers for their sweet taste related to their soluble solids content (SSC). However, strawberries are characterized by a short shelf-life and high susceptibility to tissue infection, mainly by Botrytis cinerea. The SSC determination of strawberry fruit through traditional destructive techniques has some limitations related to the applicability, timing, and number of samples. The aims of this study are (i) to verify if any relation between SSC and B. cinerea susceptibility in the fruits of five strawberry cultivars occurs and (ii) to determine the SSC of strawberry fruits through near infrared spectroscopy (NIR). Principal component analysis was used to search for spectral differences among the strawberry genotypes. The partial least squares regression technique was computed in order to predict the SSC of the fruits collected during two harvesting seasons. Moreover, variable selection methods were tested in order to improve the models and get better predictions. The results demonstrated that there was a high correlation between SSC and B. cinerea susceptibility (R² up to 0.87). The SSC was predicted with a standard error of 0.84 °Brix and R²_p 0.75 (for the best model), which indicated the possibility to use the models for screening applications. NIR spectroscopy represents an important non-destructive alternative and finds remarkable applications in the agro-food market.

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 (Fragaria × ananassa). 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.

ISHS IX International Strawberry Symposium Variation of polyphenol and vitamin C fruit content induced by strawberry breeding

International fresh table grape trade has expanded tremendously over the last few decades. However, fresh table grapes decay quickly due to pathogen infestation and water loss, which make it difficult to preserve without an effective treatment. Therefore, this study was conducted to investigate the effects of CT, with SA on maintaining quality characteristics of ‘Red Globe’ grapes during storage at 0.5°C and 90-95% RH in pomology laboratories of the faculty in 2018-2019. The experiment was conducted using a completely randomized design with treatments [1% CT and two concentrations of SA (0, 1 and 2 mM)] fora 60 day of storage time. To determine the effects of the treatmentsat 15-day intervals, weight loss, fruit decay, chroma index, total soluble solids, titratable acidity (TA), pH, fruit flesh firmness and secondary metabolites such as total phenolic contents, total flavonoids and total anthocyanins were determined. Also, antioxidant activity and antioxidant capacity of the berry extracts determined by the DPPH and FRAP assays at each sampling time. Results revealed no effect on total soluble solids and total phenolics However, there were significant effects on the quality parameters fruit decay, weight loss, TA, pH, chroma index, and fruit flesh firmness. Chitosan coating was also found to be a potentially useful treatment for the phytochemical compounds and total antioxidant activity. The pre-storage IC50 value of the berry extract was 0.53 mg mL-1 and by the end of storage period, the values were 0.49 mg mL-1 in control, 0.50 mg mL-1 in CT, 0.53 mg mL-1 in CT + 1 mM SA and 0.46 mg mL-1 in CT + 2 mM SA. Total antioxidant capacity of grapes was 23.7 mg BHT mL-1 before storage and this increased during storage for both coated and uncoated grapes. Based on the findings, there was a strong relationship between total phenolic and flavonoid contents of the berries and antioxidant activity. It was concluded that the use of CT + 2 mM SA together with MAP is a potentially useful alternative to the use of SO2 in grape storage in commercial contexts. Keywords: cold storage, chitosan, coating, salicylic acid, Vitisvinifera