Effects of nitrogen during nursery stage on flower bud differentiation and early harvest after transplanting in strawberry

Abstract

Flowering is essential for fruit production. The effects of nitrogen (N) on flower bud differentiation and early harvest in strawberry are not clear. Experiments were conducted to investigate the most effective concentration of N treatment during the seedling stage and further elucidate the mechanism of flower bud differentiation in cultivated strawberry (Fragaria ananassa Duch.'Benihoppe'). The results demonstrated that T2 (treatment 2) of 0.1 g/plant was the suitable concentration for flower bud differentiation in strawberry seedlings and then fruit early ripening. Further studies showed that the period of flower bud differentiation happened between August 19 and August 24. The total carbon (C) contents of all treatments except T3 displayed an increasing trend in seedlings before August 14. The C/N ratio (21.45-53.44) increased at the stage of flower bud differentiation in each treatment, which was promoted by an appropriate C/N ratio. Relatively higher ABA and CTKs levels but relatively lower GAs and IAA levels required during flower bud differentiation were detected. Further analysis of ABA/IAA ratio (0.53-0.76) suggested that it was also close to the flower bud differentiation in strawberry. N levels increased at phenological phases of each treatment. Different N levels during the seedling stage had little effect on fruit quality. It also exhibited the highest early harvest (183.0 g/plant) as well as the highest yield (380.3 g/plant) with T2. We found that a relatively high C/N ratio and an appropriate ABA/IAA positively initiate the flower bud differentiation, which suggested that ABA may play an important role in promoting flower bud differentiation in strawberry.

Endogenous Hormones and Biochemical Changes during Flower Development and Florescence in the Buds and Leaves of Lycium ruthenicum Murr

“…IAA is the main factor responsible for inflorescence stalk elongation [18]. IAA was also controversial, as both positive and negative effects of IAA have been reported [19]. Our study showed that IAA content of buds significantly decreased from flower bud pre-differentiation to late flower differentiation.…”

Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi promote early flowering and prolong flowering in Antirrhinum majus L. by regulating endogenous hormone balance under field-planting conditions

“…The effects of hormones on flower formation is not only represented by a single hormone but also by the balance of multiple hormones (Li et al, 2019). Previous studies found that higher ratios of ZR/IAA, ABA/IAA, ABA/GA3, and ABA/IAA+GA3+ZR promote flower bud differentiation (Mo et al, 2015;Wan et al, 2018;Yan et al, 2019). AMF also promote hormone balance in host plants (Nowak, 2004;Bona et al, 2015).…”

Characteristics of Plastic Greenhouse High-Temperature and High-Humidity Events and Their Impacts on Facility Tomatoes Growth

“…Zhao (2020) found that tomato fruit size and quality significantly decreased when exposed to HTHH during the fruit expansion period. Flower bud differentiation is a critical indication of final fruit production and quality (Wan et al, 2018), which is the key period from vegetative growth to reproductive growth, and environmental stress at the seedling stage can greatly affect flower bud differentiation (Li et al, 2019). However, after suffering from HTHH stress at the seedling stage, response characteristics for the flower bud differentiation of tomato remain unclear, which is of great significance for the early prediction of tomato fruit production and quality.…”