Open Access is an initiative that aims to make scientific research freely available to all. To date our community has made over 100 million downloads. It’s based on principles of collaboration, unobstructed discovery, and, most importantly, scientific progression. As PhD students, we found it difficult to access the research we needed, so we decided to create a new Open Access publisher that levels the playing field for scientists across the world. How? By making research easy to access, and puts the academic needs of the researchers before the business interests of publishers.
We are a community of more than 103,000 authors and editors from 3,291 institutions spanning 160 countries, including Nobel Prize winners and some of the world’s most-cited researchers. Publishing on IntechOpen allows authors to earn citations and find new collaborators, meaning more people see your work not only from your own field of study, but from other related fields too.
To purchase hard copies of this book, please contact the representative in India:
CBS Publishers & Distributors Pvt. Ltd.
www.cbspd.com
|
customercare@cbspd.com
The strawberry is a nutrient-rich fruit with high concentrations of vitamins A, C, B1, B2, protein, calcium, potassium, copper, iron, and especially antioxidants. Strawberries are an extremely popular fruit because the antioxidants in them are much more than in tomatoes, up to 7 times. Strawberry propagation now requires a tissue culture-derived cultivar. Infection from the mother plant causes low yield due to diseases, and the chemicals utilized as bait in vitro are expensive. The purpose of this experiment was to find a replacement for the chemical fertilizer mix that was affecting the strawberry’s in vitro growth. The experiment was conducted with the strawberry cultivar Royal 80 and the 5 × 4 Factorial in CRD. Explants were cultivated in media containing five types of chemical fertilizer: 21-21-21 (N-P2O5-K2O), 15-30-15 (N-P2O5-K2O), 36-5-5 (N-P2O5-K2O), 15-30-15 (N-P2O5-K2O) and 10-52-17 (N-P2O5-K2O) at concentrations of 0.5, 1.5, 2.5 and 3.5 g L−1, compared to MS medium, which provided control for each type of fertilizer. The plantlets were cultured in 0.5 g/l of 21-21-21 showed the highest number of plantlets was 4.30 plantlets/explant, which was better than MS medium (3.44 plantlets/explant), 15-30-15 and 36-5-5 media (3.48, 3.87 plantlets/explant, respectively).
The strawberry (Fragaria spp.) is one of the most popular berry fruits in the world. Strawberries contain high levels of vitamins C and K, as well as fiber, folic acid, manganese, and potassium [1]. They are also rich in phytonutrients and flavonoids, which give them their bright red color. They have been used medicinally for centuries to help with digestive problems, tooth whitening, and skin irritations. Their high fiber and fructose content may help control blood sugar levels by slowing digestion, and the fiber is thought to have a satiating effect. Leaves can be eaten raw, cooked, or used to make tea [2, 3, 4, 5].
In Thailand, strawberries have been grown for many years in the north of the country and have become economically important since the early 1980s. The Royal Project Foundation’s research resulted in the creation of a popular cultivar known as “Royal 80”. This cultivar has a pleasant flavor, is early to bear fruit, and is of good quality. The absence of good mother plants for runner plant production is an issue in strawberry farming in Thailand. There are very few virus-free plants available, and plant vigor is low [6, 7]. The propagation of strawberries using tissue culture technique is one way to solve this problem. However, production costs are high due to the expensive chemicals used for the propagation recipes [8]. To reduce the high expenses of the tissue culture technique, we are interested in using chemical fertilizers, which farmers used for strawberry production instead of MS medium. Farmers for strawberry production use the strawberry fertilizers such as 21-21-21 (N-P2O5-K2O), 15-30-15 (N-P2O5-K2O), 36-5-5 (N-P2O5-K2O), 15-30-15 (N-P2O5-K2O), and 10-52-17 (N-P2O5-K2O). Therefore, developing recipes to reduce production costs is necessary in conducting this research. So far, there is no report on the use of fertilizers to substitute strawberry production medium. The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of types and concentration of chemical fertilizers by using five types of replacement mediums on Fragaria spp. to reduce production costs.
Strawberries, cultivar Royal 80 stolons were obtained and used for explant from a strawberry farm in Petchaboon province, Thailand. Stolon (Figure 1) was chopped to 3–4 cm and washed in a 10% detergent solution with running tap water. It was washed in regular tap water. The stolons were surface-sterilized for 7 min with 10% sodium hypochlorite and then rinsed three times in sterile distilled water [9]. The stolon was cut to a length of 2–3 cm and placed in MS medium [10], which contained sucrose 30 g L−1 and phytagel 2.0 g L−1. Prior to autoclaving at 121°C, the pH was adjusted to 5.7 with 1 N NaOH or 1 N HCl. The cultures were maintained in a culture room with a temperature of 25 ± 2°C, a light intensity of 100 μmol m−2 s−1, and a photoperiod of 16 h [8]. After 2 months of culture, the young shoot was induced in MS medium.
Figure 1.
Stolon of strawberry cultivar royal 80 was used to be an explant.
2.2 Statistical analysis
The experiment carried out in 5 × 4 Factorial in CRD (Completely Randomized Design) consisted of two factors as factor A was 5 types of chemical fertilizers as 21-21-21 (N-P2O5-K2O: Procon), 36-5-5 (N-P2O5-K2O: Superspeed), 30-20-10 (N-P2O5-K2O: Plalungchang pink), 15-30-15 (N-P2O5-K2O: Megafor), 10-52-17 (N-P2O5-K2O: Plalungchang blue) and MS as a control, factor B was 4 levels of chemical fertilizer concentration as 0.5, 1.5, 2.5, and 3.5 g L−1. The data was analyzed statistically by Statistix 8 program and the significance of differences among means was conducted using LSD at p ≤ 0.05 and p ≤ 0.01. Data was recorded after 4 weeks of culture.
2.3 Multiplication
The young shoots of strawberries from MS medium [10] were transferred to the experiment, consisting of 21 treatments as above. All treatments had 10 replicates and were supplemented with sucrose 30 g L−1, phytagel 2.5 g L−1, and adjusted pH to 5.7. All cultures were maintained in a culture room kept at 25 ± 2°C with a light intensity of 100 mol m−2 s1 and a photoperiod of 16 h [9]. The following data were corrected after 4 weeks of culture: number of plantlets (plants/explant), fresh weight of plantlets (g/explant), number of roots (root/explant), and root length (root/explant).
From Table 1, the comparison with five types of chemical fertilizers (factor A), the concentration of chemical fertilizer (factor B), and the interaction between types and the concentration of chemical fertilizer (factor AxB) were highly significant. If compared with the fresh weight of strawberry plantlets, five types of chemical fertilizers as 21-21-21 (N-P2O5-K2O), 36-5-5 (N-P2O5-K2O), 30-20-10 (N-P2O5-K2O), 15-30-15(N-P2O5-K2O) and 10-52-17 (N-P2O5-K2O) showed an average amount of fresh weight of 1.28–1.35 gL−1. According to the experiment, MS medium was the best medium to induce the fresh weight of plantlets (1.72 gL−1) because it contained macronutrients, micronutrients, and many kinds of vitamins [9, 11].
The effect of different chemical fertilizer types and concentrations on the fresh weight of strawberry plantlets after cultured for 4 weeks.
Significant difference at the level of 0.01.
Different alphabets in the same column and row are significantly different at level 0.05 compared to LSD.
3.2 Number of plantlets
In Table 2, to compare five types of chemical fertilizers (factor A), the concentration of chemical fertilizer (factor B) and interaction between types and concentration of chemical fertilizer (AxB) were all highly significant at level 0.01. MS medium, 21-21-21 (N-P2O5-K2O), and 15-30-15 (N-P2O5-K2O) chemical fertilizers showed a similar number of plantlets (3.44, 3.87, and 3.48 plantlets/explant, respectively). At the concentration of chemical fertilizer, 0.5 g L−1 was the best concentration to induce plantlets of strawberries. The medium containing 0.5 g L−1 of 21-21-21 (N-P2O5-K2O) chemical fertilizer was the best medium to produce plantlets of strawberries (Figure 2) [11].
The effect of chemical fertilizer types and concentrations on the number of strawberry plantlets after 4 weeks of culture.
Significant difference at the level of 0.01.
Different alphabets in the same column and row are significantly different at level 0.05 compared to LSD.
Figure 2.
Plantlet was cultured on medium containing 0.5 g L−1 of 21-21-21 (N-P2O5-K2O) chemical fertilizer.
3.3 Number of roots
To study the effects of five types of chemical fertilizer, the concentration of chemical fertilizer and the interaction between type of chemical fertilizer and concentration of chemical fertilizer on root induction of strawberries were shown in Table 3. The type of chemical fertilizer (factor A) was significantly different at level 0.01. The concentration of chemical fertilizer (factor B) was shown to be significantly different at level 0.05. Also, the interaction between factors A and B was significantly different at level 0.05 too. Similar to [8], MS medium is shown to be the best medium to induce root growth in strawberries (5.09 root/explant). On the media, 21-21-21 (N-P2O5-K2O) and 15-30-15 (N-P2O5-K2O) were also good media to induce strawberry root (3.97 and 3.64 root/explant, respectively).
The effect of chemical fertilizer types and concentrations on a number of roots of strawberry plantlet after being cultured for 4 weeks.
Significantly different at level 0.05.
Significantly different at level 0.01.
Different alphabets in the same column and row are significantly different at level 0.05 compared to LSD.
3.4 Root length
Five types of chemical fertilizer (factor A), the concentration of chemical fertilizer (factor B), and interactions between types of chemical fertilizer and concentration of chemical fertilizer (A × B) on the root length of strawberries were investigated (Table 4). Factor A, factor B, and factor A × B were shown to be significantly different at level 0.01. The MS medium and the 21-21-21 (N-P2O5-K2O) chemical fertilizer medium were the best media to induce root length (2.42 and 2.21 cm/explant, respectively). Because higher fertilizer concentrations caused the plant to be unable to properly absorb nutrients for growth, the optimal concentration to promote root length (2.39 cm/explant) was 0.5 g L−1 [12].
This experiment was conducted to study the effect of chemical fertilizer instead of MS medium on induced plantlets of strawberry (F. spp.) cultivar Royal 80. The findings revealed that the type and concentration of chemical fertilizer had an effect on the fresh weight of plantlets, the number of plantlets, the number of roots, and the root length. The strawberry was cultured on 0.5 gL−1 of 21-21-21 medium, which was the best medium.
The author gratefully acknowledges Khon Kaen University and the Faculty of Agriculture for financial support and for preparing the manuscript.
References
1.Voltolina V. 14 Proven Health Benefits of Strawberries 18 Nutritional Benefits of Strawberries [Internet]. 2019. Available from: https://www.organicfacts.net/health-benefits/fruit/strawberries.html [Accessed: 16 July 2021]
2.Devlieghere F, Vermelen A, Debevere J. Chitisan: Antimicrobial activity, interactions with food components and applicability as a coating on fruit and vegetables. Food Microbiology. 2004;21(6):703-714
3.Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO). The State of Food Insecurity in the Word [Internet]. USA: FAO; 2008. Available from: http://www.fao.org/3/i0291e00.htm [ISBN: 978-92-5-106049-0]
4.Karhu S, Hakala K. Micropropagated strawberries on the field. Acta Horticulturae. 2002;567:321-324. DOI: 10.17660/ACTAHORTIC.2002.567.68
5.Lewin J. The Health Benefits of Strawberries [Internet]. 2018. Available from: http://www.bbcgoodfood.com
6.Chien YK, Al-Jowid AM, Baiz A. An effective disinfection protocol for plant regeneration from shoot tip cultures of strawberry. American Journal of Biotechnology. 2009;8(11):2611-2615. DOI: 10.5897/AJB09.228
7.Pipattanawong N. Strawberry production and the Royal Project Foundation, Thailand. Journal of Developments in Sustainable Agriculture. 2015;10:15-18
8.Sutan AN, Popescu A, Isac V. In vitro culture medium and explant type effect on callogenesis and shoot regeneration in two genotypes of ornamental strawberry. Romanian Biotechnological Letters. 2010;15(2):12-18
9.Neera S, Boungphengphanh D. Potential of common chemical fertilizers for micropropagation of Rhynchostylis gigantea (Lindl) Ridl. Acta Horticulturae. 2016;1113:73-78. DOI: 10.17660/ActaHortic.2016.1113.10
10.Murashige T, Skoog F. A revised medium for rapid growth and bioassays with tobacco tissue cultures. Plant Physiology. 1962;15(3):473-479
11.Li H, Huang R, Li T, Hu K. Ability of nitrogen and phosphorus assimilation of seven strawberry cultivars in a northern Atlantic coastal soil. In: 19th Congress of Soil Science, Soil Solution for Changing World. 1-6 August 2010; Brisbane, Australia
12.Somboon T. Plant Physiology. Bangkok, Thailand: Kasetsart University; 2001. 237p
Written By
Sumana Neera
Submitted: 30 November 2021Reviewed: 29 March 2022Published: 13 July 2022
Open access peer-reviewed chapter
