Abstract
Strawberry is an excellent source of natural antioxidants with high capacity of scavenging free radicals. This study evaluated the effects of two plant probiotic bacteria, Bacillus amylolequefaciens BChi1 and Paraburkholderia fungorum BRRh-4 on growth, fruit yield and antioxidant contents in strawberry fruits. Root dipping of seedlings (plug plants) followed by spray applications of both probiotic bacteria in the field on foliage significantly increased fruit yield (up to 48%) over non-treated control. Enhanced fruit yield likely to be linked with higher root and shoot growth, individual and total fruit weight/plant and production of phytohormone by the probiotic bacteria applied on plants. Interestingly, the fruits from plants inoculated with the isolates BChi1 and BRRh-4 had significantly higher contents of phenolics, carotenoids, flavonoids and anthocyanins over non-treated control. Total antioxidant activities were also significantly higher (p < 0.05) in fruits of strawberry plants treated with both probiotic bacteria. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report of significant improvement of both yield and quality of strawberry fruits by the application of plant probiotic bacteria BChi1 and BRRh-4 in a field condition. Further study is needed to elucidate underlying mechanism of growth and quality improvement of strawberry fruits by probiotic bacteria.
Highlights
The consumption of fresh fruits and vegetables containing bioactive compounds has increased considerably in recent years
Application of probiotic bacteria significantly (p < 0.05) enhanced leaf length, leaf width, leaf number/plant and canopy diameter compared with non-treated control (Table 1)
This study explored an environment-friendly option for boosting strawberry plant growth, fruit yield and functional properties of fruits through the application of two plant growth promoting probiotic bacteria and compared the results with that of non-treated control
Summary
The consumption of fresh fruits and vegetables containing bioactive compounds has increased considerably in recent years. Major genera of plant growth promoting probiotic bacteria include Bacillus, Paraburkholderia, Pseudomonas, Acinetobacter, Alcaligenes, Arthrobacter, and Serratia[8,9,10,11,12] They provide beneficial effects to host plants through production of phytohormones, antibiotics and lytic enzymes, fixation of atmospheric nitrogen, solubilization of soil mineral nutrients and induction of systemic resistance in the host plants[7]. Specific objectives of the study were to (i) evaluate the effects of two plant probiotic bacterial strains BChi[1] and BRRh-4 on growth and fruit yield of strawberry, and (ii) determine the effects of these probiotic bacteria on contents of total anthocyanins, carotenoids, flavonoids, phenolics and antioxidant activities in fresh strawberry fruits
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
