Acceleration of Flower Bud Differentiation of Runner Plants in “Maehyang” Strawberries Using Nutrient Solution Resupply during the Nursery Period

Abstract

The forced cultivation of strawberries (Fragaria × ananassa Duch.) requires fast flower bud differentiation. Using temporary nutrient-withholding periods is a common management practice for inducing flower bud differentiation at strawberry nurseries in the Republic of Korea. After the temporary nutrient-withholding period, nutrient solution resupply can advance both flower bud growth and fruit yield. This study aims to determine the optimal nutrient solution resupply period with anatomical analysis in order to find a method for fast flower bud differentiation in the early harvest period. Here, the runner plants were divided into 5 groups, each receiving a treatment period of watering (W) and nutrient solution (N) (W40 + N0 (control), W30 + N10, W20 + N20, W10 + N30, and W0 + N40; each number represents the days of the treatment period). The nutrient solution treatments were supplied using a strawberry nutrient solution developed by Gyeongsangnam-do Agricultural Research and Extension. Rapid flower bud differentiation was found for W20 + N20 via anatomical analysis. When the temporary nutrient-withholding period was decreased, the T-N (total nitrogen), P, K, and S concentrations showed a tendency to increase. The C/N ratio showed a tendency to decrease when the nutrient solution resupply period was increased. The W20 + N20 group showed faster flower bud development than the other groups at 10 days before transplanting and on the day of transplanting (2.2 and 5.5), 6 days in a primary cluster budding ratio, and 16 days in flowering plants. No differences in fruit characteristics were observed for the different treatments. In conclusion, the W20 + N20 treatment, which maintains fast flowering, seems to be appropriate for nutrient solution resupply treatment for “Maehyang” strawberries during the nursery period.

Morpho-Physiological and Transcriptome Analyses Provide Insights into the Wizened Bud Formation in Pear Trees

“…According to the present study, more than 60% of buds presented a wizened performance in '710' sand pear trees at the time of flower bud differentiation (Figure 1A,B), indicating that '710' sand pear trees have a typical character of wizened bud formation and could be used as interesting material to investigate the underlying mechanism. Mineral nutrients and carbohydrates play key roles in floral bud differentiation [36,37], and these are dominantly supplied from leaves by the source-sink transport mechanism [38,39]. In pear, sorbitol is the main transportable photo-assimilate, which was confirmed to contribute to flower bud differentiation [40,41].…”

Development of a deep-learning phenotyping tool for analyzing image-based strawberry phenotypes

“…Given their significance in the global market and mounting year-round demand, strawberries are intensively grown under protected structures to ensure seasonal earliness, high-quality yield, and a continuous annual supply. Strawberry cultivation in Korea is primarily concentrated in greenhouses and is significant in the country’s agricultural industry and economy ( Hwang et al., 2020 ). However, cultivating strawberries under such conditions requires extensive input and labor ( Ilyas et al., 2021 ; Khammayom et al., 2022 ; Mbarushimana et al., 2022 ).…”