Phytohormone profiles of 'Seolhyang' and 'Maehyang' strawberry fruits during ripening

Abstract

The ripening pattern of strawberry (Fragaria x ananassa) is different from other fruits, primarily because plant hormones affect the fruit's quality in a different way than in other fruits. However, most studies on strawberries have focused on cultivation methods, control of pests and diseases, and breeding, and considerably less research has been done on hormones that determine strawberry internal quality. Even though strawberries have good indicators for gauging external quality, there is not enough data to for it to be related to internal quality. As such, we sought to better understand quality as strawberry fruit in specific six progressive developmental stages: flower buds, flowering, green fruits (GF), white fruits, pink fruits, and red fruits (RF). The internal quality and hormonal changes of 'Seolhyang' and 'Maehyang' cultivars were investigated on the basis of these developmental stages. This report highlights the changes in plant hormones that affect fruit ripening of 'Seolhyang' and 'Maehyang' cultivars. ABA, cytokinin, JA, and SA content increased gradually with maturity from the GF to the RF stage, while auxin content decreased gradually from GF to RF. Meanwhile, cytokinin and GA(3) content exhibited fluctuations and differences between 'Seolhyang' and 'Maehyang' cultivars. The quality of strawberries was highest at the sixth (RF) stage in the both cultivars. Our results reveal that plant hormones play a role in the maturation of strawberry fruits and provide a foundation for their agricultural use in controlling the maturity of fruits.