Configuration of Strawberry Yield, Nutritional and Functional Traits in Response to LPE Application in a Two-Year Study

Abstract

Lysophosphatidylethanolamine (LPE) is a promising natural lysophospholipid which can be employed as a growth regulator for horticultural purposes. The present research was accomplished to investigate the effects of LPE (0 or 10 ppm) on the yield and quality of “Savana” strawberry plants grown during two consecutive cultivation cycles (I (2020–2021); II (2021–2022)). Plants cultivated in year I and treated with LPE revealed the highest total yield (838.3 g plant−1), marketable yield (735.4 g plant−1) and average marketable fruit weight (39.8 g plant−1). Fruits from year II plants treated with LPE had the highest total phenolics concentration (491.4 mg 100 g−1 dw). LPE significantly enhanced strawberry antioxidant activity, firmness, soluble solids content, ascorbic acid and anthocyanins by 5.2%, 7.6%, 15.3%, 13.8% and 19.7%, respectively, compared with the control. Although LPE application significantly reduced fruit dry matter, yellowness and lightness by 7.2%, 30.1% and 14.6%, respectively, it significantly increased, in year II, anthocyanins, discarded production, fruit lightness and dry matter. Overall, our findings also revealed that, even under sub-optimal growing conditions (year II), LPE application increased important productive and qualitative strawberry parameters.