Influence of deficit irrigation on strawberry (Fragaria x ananassa Duch.) fruit quality

BACKGROUND: Three different irrigation regimes - upper limit of field capacity (UFC), -12 kPa); lower limit of field capacity (LFC), -33 kPa; and deficit irrigation (DI), -70 kPa) were established on silty-loam soil and monitored with tensiometers. Yield and fruit quality of 'Flamenco' and Eva's 'Delight' ever-bearing strawberry cultivars were monitored. The aim of the study was to evaluate the effect of different irrigation regimes on the content of sugars, organic acids and phenolic compounds using high-performance liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry HPLC/HPLC-MS. RESULTS: Deficit irrigation significantly increased the content of sugars (from 1.1- to 1.3 fold), organic acids (from 1.1- to 1.3-fold), their ratio (from 1.1- to 1.2-fold) and the content of most identified phenolics in cv. 'Flamenco'. Conversely, higher amounts of total sugars and organic acids (1.7- to 1.8-fold) were detected in Eva's 'Delight' strawberries at UFC and LFC irrigation. Deficit irrigation generally decreased strawberry yield of cv. 'Eva's 'Delight'. CONCLUSION: The results suggest superior fruit quality and taste of strawberries grown under minor deficit irrigation for cv. 'Flamenco'. (C) 2016 Society of Chemical Industry