Abstract
Consumer demands regarding eggplant fruits are focused on perfect shape, color, and taste but nutritional and bioactive quality has also become important with rising awareness of food related health. On the other hand, producers value modern cultivars’ earliness, high-yielding, stress-tolerance, and high overall fruit quality. We attempt to link these two standpoints through combining modern hybrids cultivated in the open field of temperate climatic zone with biostimulant application to increase the dynamics of yielding and the quality of fruits. The aim of our research was the determination of the genotypic-dependent response of eggplant (Solanum melongena L.) to Ascophyllum nodosum standardized extract (Göemar BM-86) application in field conditions of Poland, with respect to the most important characteristics linked to yield quality and plant stress status. The early and total yield of investigated hybrids was affected by biostimulant application, and this dependence was confirmed statistically for most of the treatments. The increase of ‘Epic’ F1 and ‘Flavine’ F1 yield potential through Göemar BM-86 application was linked to higher fruit number harvested from the plants, while ‘WA 6020’ F1 led to greater fruit weight. Investigated hybrids responded differently to biostimulant treatment with respect to dietary and pro-health value of fruits. Generally, the content of soluble sugar, anthocyanins, and mineral elements as well as was antioxidant activity of fruits were positively affected by biostimulant application. This tendency was statistically confirmed for several experimental treatments. Presented results give a new perspective on seaweed-based biostimulants as elicitors of crop’s self defense mechanisms as well as modulators of fruit setting, productivity and bioactive compounds accumulation in eggplant.
 
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 In press - Online First. Article has been peer reviewed, accepted for publication and published online without pagination. It will receive pagination when the issue will be ready for publishing as a complete number (Volume 47, Issue 3, 2019). The article is searchable and citable by Digital Object Identifier (DOI). DOI link will become active after the article will be included in the complete issue.
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Highlights
The biochemical composition of vegetables is the output of interaction between cultivation environment and genotypic constitution (San José et al, 2013)
Our study showed that the content of P, Fe, Zn, Ca, but not Cu in eggplant fruits was significantly affected by both experimental factors (Table 3)
Seaweed extracts are precious source of bioactive compounds, but the knowledge about the effects of their application in eggplant crop management is still limited to few algae species applied to a narrow number of cultivars as well as growing systems
Summary
The biochemical composition of vegetables is the output of interaction between cultivation environment and genotypic constitution (San José et al, 2013). Few studies have been performed to investigate the changes in eggplant yielding and fruit chemical composition in the following seasons of field cultivation (Mennella et al, 2010; Raigón et al, 2010; San José et al, 2014). Intensive breeding in eggplant resulted in successful market introduction of high yielding hybrids adapted to greenhouse cultivation, as well as to field production in less favouring environment (Rodríguez-Burruezo et al, 2008; Sękara et al, 2016). In North America and Europe, eggplants with dark purple, oval or elongated, large fruits are the most popular group of cultivars, named ‘western eggplants’ (Sekara et al, 2010; Kumar et al, 2008; Cericola et al, 2013). In addition to morphological diversity, eggplant fruits are characterized by variation in secondary metabolites that influence fruit quality
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