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Strawberry fruit production and quality under conventional, integrated and

organic management

Article  in  Acta horticulturae · January 2012

DOI: 10.17660/ActaHortic.2012.926.76

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 Strawberry fruit production and quality under conventional,
integrated and organic management.
Peter A. Roussos*, Athanassios Triantafillidis and Evaggelos Kepolas
Laboratory of Pomology, Dep. Crop Science, Agricultural University of Athens, Iera Odos 75,
Athens 118 55, Greece , Corresponding author, E-mail: [email protected]
Abstract
The aim of the present research was to study the effects of strawberry (Fragaria x ananassa Duch) farm management (organic, conventional, and integrated) on fruit quality. Under the
organic and integrated production system, the soil was supplemented with two organic amendments and was also inoculated with nitrogen fixing bacteria of the genus Azospirrillum
and Azotobacter, right after planting. Plants were grown in pots in a glasshouse for a period of seven months. Fertilization begun two weeks after planting and the three farm
managements were distinguished by the use of only chemical fertilizers (conventional), only organic ones (organic) or combination of the two former types of fertilizers (integrated),
along with the prohibition (organic) or not (integrated, conventional) of pesticides. Two samplings took place; each one lasted approximately one month. During each sampling event
the fruit weight, diameter, length, dry weight, color, firmness, titratable acidity, total soluble sugars and pH along with the antioxidant capacity of the juice (according to DPPH and
FRAP assays) were measured. Based on the statistical analysis, there were not any significant differences between the three farming systems concerning pH, titratable acidity,
firmness, color parameters, fruit diameter and length as well as mean fruit weight. Organically and integrated produced fruits presented higher values of total soluble solids. There
was not any significant difference observed concerning the antioxidant capacity of the juice based on the DPPH assay, but FRAP assay revealed significant differences, as the
integrated farm management resulted in significantly lower ferric reducing power of the juice produced, compared to the conventional and organic farm management. Fruit production
was significantly higher under integrated farming system, while both organic and integrated farm managements resulted in the higher weight of fruits classified in Extra category. In
conclusion, integrated management system resulted in the higher yield of high quality fruits.
INTRODUCTION
Epidemiological evidence suggests that consumption of fruit and vegetables reduces the risk of cancer, degenerative and cardiovascular diseases, potentially through the biological actions of
phytochemicals such as vitamin C, flavonoids and carotenoids (Valavanidis et al., 2009). Strawberry consumption appears to be associated with such reduction in those diseases through the
phytochemicals found in these fruits, and especially anthocyanins. Organic agriculture is one of the fastest developing sectors in agricultural industry. With respect to product quality, surveys
indicate that consumers consider organic foods to be more beneficial to both human health and environment, and with better flavour than their conventionally-integrated grown counterparts
(Valavanidis et al., 2009). However, consumers’ expectations and beliefs must be properly confirmed by more scientific studies. The aim of the present experiment was to compare strawberry fruit
quality produced under three different farm managements, thus under conventional, integrated and organic farm management.

MATERIALS AND METHODS RESULTS

Commercial fresh strawberry plants cv. Camarosa were planted in a glasshouse in 5L plastic pots filled Fruit quality characteristics were similar between the three management systems (Table
with a substrate comprised from orchard soil, peat and perlite at a ratio 5:1:2 in late October. At planting, 1). The mean fruit weight did not exhibit significant differences between the different
the plants of organic and integrated management were treated with the commercial organic soil managements, although under conventional management fruits presented higher weight.
amendments Guanito (6-15-3 plus 2 MgO) and Sicobio (6-8-15 + 3 MgO) while right after planting the The mean diameter as well as the mean length and their ratio was similar under all
same plants were inoculated with nitrogen fixing bacteria, by the commercial formulation Azospir managements. The ratio of fresh to dry weight, although lower under integrated
(Azospirillum sp and Azotobacter sp.). Further fertilization took place in all treatments two weeks after management did not present significant differences. The same stood for fruit firmness
planting. Plants of the conventional and integrated management were fertilized with a water soluble too. Juice quality characteristics (pH, titratable acidity and the ratio total soluble solids to
fertilizer in the form of 21-21-21 (N-P-K) along with iron chelate (Fe-EDDHA). Plants of integrated as well titratable acidity) were similar under the three management types, while TSS was higher
as those of organic management were further fertilized with the commercial organic soil amendment in juice of fruits produced under integrated and organic management (Table 2).
Activit (3.6-2.8-2.2 plus 1.5MgO). This fertilization program continued till the end of the trial (late May) at Significant differences were recorded concerning the overall yield per plot (Table 3).
15-20 days intervals. In overall, the three farm managements were distinguished by the use of only Plants grown under integrated management produced the highest yield, and almost
chemical fertilizers (conventional), only organic ones (organic) or combination of the two former types of double that produced under conventional management. The entire production of
fertilizers (integrated), along with the prohibition (organic) or not (integrated, conventional) of pesticides. conventional management was graded at Extra quality fruits, but the weight of these fruits
Two fruit samplings took place, each one lasting approximately one month, in order to evaluate fruit fresh was significantly lower than that achieved under integrated management. The color of
and dry weight, diameter, length and firmness, total soluble solids (TSS), pH and total acidity (TA) of the fruits did not exhibit significant differences between management types, based on L, Hue
juice, fruit color and antioxidant capacity of the juice, by 1.1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) and Chroma indexes (Table 4). The antioxidant capacity of the juice was similar under all
discoloration assay and by the ferric reducing power (FRAP) assay. Based on the European Community management types when this was expressed by the DPPH assay, while when this was
legislation (843/2002) on the strawberry fruit trade, the overall fruit production per treatment was expressed by the FRAP assay it resulted in significant differences (Fig. 1). Integrated
classified into two categories (based on fruit diameter), i.e. “Extra”, fruits with diameter above 25mm and produced fruits presented the lowest antioxidant capacity while the highest was recorded
“I and II” for fruits with diameter at least 18mm. in organically produced juice.
Table 1. Effect of farm management on strawberry fruit quality characteristics. Table 2. Effect of farm management on strawberry juice quality characteristics.
Farm Fruit quality characteristics Farm Quality characteristics
management Mean Mean Mean Diameter FW/DW Firmness
weight diameter length /length (Ν)
management pH TSS TA TSS:TA
(g) (mm) (mm) Conventional 3.58 a 6.34 b 0.75 a 8.64 a
Conventional 18.2 a 32.41 a 40.9 a 0.8 a 13.5 a 4.22 a Integrated 3.6 a 7.5 a 0.91 a 8.42 a
Integrated 15.6 a 30.67 a 36.4 a 0.84 a 11.7 a 3.67 a Organic 3.47 a 7.08 a 0.89 a 8.13 a
Organic 16.2 a 31.47 a 38.1 a 0.83 a 13.5 a 4.07 a
Means within the same column followed by the same letter do not differ significantly
Means within the same column followed by the same letter do not differ significantly
based on Tukey’s HSD test, on α=0.05. based on Tukey’s HSD test, on α=0.05.

Table 3. Effect of farm management on strawberry yield. Table 4. Effect of farm management on strawberry fruit color.
Yield parameters Farm Color parameters
Farm
management Mean plot Extra category fruits Extra category management
weight (g) (%) fruit weight (g)
L Chroma Hue
Conventional 1265.1 b 100 a 1265.1 b Conventional 35.2 a 40.5 a 27.6 a
Integrated 2102.1 a 85.4 b 1796.1 a Integrated 34.3 a 38.9 a 28.3 a
Organic 1569.7 b 93.1 ab 1460.9 ab Organic 34.8 a 39.6 a 29.2 a Figure 1. Antioxidant capacity of the juice measured by DPPH (%
Means within the same column followed by the same letter do not differ significantly Means within the same column followed by the same letter do not differ significantly
based on Tukey’s HSD test, on α=0.05.
inhibition compared to control) and FRAP (mM Trolox equivalents ml-1
based on Tukey’s HSD test, on α=0.05. juice) assays.
DISCUSSION
The farm management influenced neither the fruit weight nor its dimensions. It seems that the influence of genotype is stronger than that of farm management. Several studies have shown that
organic fruits may be larger in size but smaller ones have also been recorded (Peck et al. 2006). On the other hand, the total fruit production under integrated management was significantly higher
than those under organic and conventional ones, which could be ascribed to the more efficient plant nutrition through the combination of chemical and organic fertilizers.
The quality characteristics of the juice were similar between the farm managements except that of total soluble solids, where the conventional management resulted in lower values. Similar results
have been reported by Cayuela et al. (1997). The color of the fruits was not influenced by the farm management, as it seems to be a characteristic of the genotype which is less sensitive to
agricultural management techniques. On the other hand though, the antioxidant capacity expressed as ferric reducing power was found to be higher in organic fruits. There are numerous reports
where organically produced strawberry fruits have been found to contain higher concentrations of phytochemicals which contribute to antioxidant capacity, such as phenolic compounds and ascorbic
acid (Hakkinen and Torronen 2000; Olsson et al. 2006). In conclusion, it seems that all farm managements resulted in satisfactory fruit production, with integrated management producing more
strawberry fruits of high quality, while organically produced fruits exhibited slightly higher antioxidant capacity.
Literature Cited
Cayuela, J.A. Vidueira, J.M. Albi, M.A. and Gutierrez, F. 1997. Influence of the ecological cultivation of strawberries (Fragaria x ananassa cv Chandler) on the quality of the fruit and on their
capacity for conservation. J. Agr. Food Chem. 45: 1736-1740.
Hakkinen, S.H. Torronen, A.R. 2000. Content of flavonols and selected phenolic acids in strawberries and Vaccinium species: influence of cultivar, cultivation site and technique. Food Res. Int. 33:
517-524.
Olsson, M.E. Andersson, C.S. Oredsson, S. Berglund, R.H. and Gustavsson, K.E. 2006. Antioxidant levels and inhibition of cancer cell proliferation in vitro by extracts from organically and
conventionally cultivated strawberries. J. Agr. Food Chem. 54: 1248-1255.
Peck, G.M. Andrews, P.K. Reganold, J.P. and Fellman, J.K. 2006. Apple orchard productivity and fruit quality under organic, conventional, and integrated management. Hortscience 41: 99-107.
Valavanidis, A. Vlachogianni, T. Psomas, A. Zovoili, A. and Siatis, V. 2009. Polyphenolic profile and antioxidant activity of five apple cultivars grown under organic and conventional agricultural
practices. Int. J. Food Sci. Technol. 44: 1167-1175.

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