Joint Action of <i>Trichoderma atroviride</i> and a Vegetal Derived-Protein Hydrolysate Improves Performances of Woodland Strawberry in Italy
Lorena Vultaggio,
Enrica Allevato,
Beppe Benedetto Consentino,
Pietro Bellitto,
Simona Napoli,
Claudio Cannata,
Georgia Ntatsi,
Sonya Vasto,
Sara Baldassano,
Salvatore La Bella,
Claudio Leto,
Leo Sabatino
Affiliations
Lorena Vultaggio
Dipartimento Scienze Agrarie, Alimentari e Forestali, Università di Palermo, Viale delle Scienze, 90128 Palermo, Italy
Enrica Allevato
Department of Environmental and Prevention Sciences (DiSAP), University of Ferrara, 44121 Ferrara, Italy
Beppe Benedetto Consentino
Dipartimento Scienze Agrarie, Alimentari e Forestali, Università di Palermo, Viale delle Scienze, 90128 Palermo, Italy
Pietro Bellitto
Dipartimento Scienze Agrarie, Alimentari e Forestali, Università di Palermo, Viale delle Scienze, 90128 Palermo, Italy
Simona Napoli
Dipartimento Scienze Agrarie, Alimentari e Forestali, Università di Palermo, Viale delle Scienze, 90128 Palermo, Italy
Claudio Cannata
Dipartimento di Agricoltura, Alimentazione e Ambiente (Di3A), University of Catania, Via S. Sofia, 100, 95123 Catania, Italy
Georgia Ntatsi
Laboratory of Vegetable Production, Department of Crop Science, Agricultural University of Athens, 11855 Athens, Greece
Sonya Vasto
Department of Biological, Chemical and Pharmaceutical Sciences and Technologies (STEBICEF), University of Palermo, Viale delle Scienze, 90128 Palermo, Italy
Sara Baldassano
Department of Biological, Chemical and Pharmaceutical Sciences and Technologies (STEBICEF), University of Palermo, Viale delle Scienze, 90128 Palermo, Italy
Salvatore La Bella
Dipartimento Scienze Agrarie, Alimentari e Forestali, Università di Palermo, Viale delle Scienze, 90128 Palermo, Italy
Claudio Leto
Dipartimento Scienze Agrarie, Alimentari e Forestali, Università di Palermo, Viale delle Scienze, 90128 Palermo, Italy
Leo Sabatino
Dipartimento Scienze Agrarie, Alimentari e Forestali, Università di Palermo, Viale delle Scienze, 90128 Palermo, Italy
Woodland strawberry (Fragaria vesca L.) is an underutilized plant species that could benefit from the use of biostimulants to improve crop productivity and fruit quality. The scope of the present study was to appraise the influence of two biostimulants (Trichoderma atroviride and plant protein hydrolysate)—used either alone or combined—on the plant performance and economic profitability of two woodland strawberry genotypes (‘Alpine’ and ‘Regina delle Valli’). Overall, data showed that ‘Alpine’ had the highest productive performances, whereas ‘Regina delle Valli’ revealed the highest fruit qualitative traits. T. atroviride inoculation and V-PH application significantly boosted plant marketable yield (+20.5% for T. atroviride and +12.9% for V-PH), total sugars (+1.9% for Trichoderma and +1.4% for V-PH) and anthocyanins (+14.1% for T. atroviride and +9.8% for V-PH) compared to non-treated plants. Plants supplied with both biostimulants had a higher marketable yield (+34.8%), mean fruit weight (+6.0%), fruit dry matter (+13.8%), total sugars (+3.5%), ascorbic acid (+12.7%), flavonoid (+26.3%) and anthocyanins (+29.9%) compared to non-treated plants. Furthermore, our study revealed that the highest fruit polyphenol concentration was recorded in both genotypes treated with the combination of biostimulants and in ‘Regina delle Valli’ sprayed with V-PH, whereas the highest antioxidant activity was found in ‘Regina delle Valli’ fruit when plants were supplied with both biostimulants. Our study pointed out that the application of microbial and non-microbial biostimulants, especially in combination, might be a useful strategy for improving the performances of underutilized species and, therefore, encouraging their cultivation, valorization and economic profitability (+6208.3 EUR /ha when plants were exposed to both biostimulants).
