title: AM fungi and PGP pseudomonads increase flowering, fruit production, and vitamin content in strawberry grown at low nitrogen and phosphorus levels.
abstract: There is increasing interest in the quality of crops because of the implications concerning health, economic revenue, and food quality. Here we tested if inoculation with a mixture of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) and/or two strains of plant growth-promoting bacteria (PGPB), in conditions of reduced chemical inputs, affects the quality and yield of strawberry fruits. Fruit quality was measured by concentrations of soluble sugars, various organic acids, and two vitamins (ascorbic and folic acid). Co-inoculation with the AMF and each of the two PGPB resulted in increased flower and fruit production, larger fruit size, and higher concentrations of sugars and ascorbic and folic acid in comparison with fruits of uninoculated plants. These results provide further evidence that rhizospheric microorganisms affect fruit crop quality and show that they do so even under conditions of reduced chemical fertilization and can thus be exploited for sustainable agriculture.
authors.affiliation: Dipartimento di Scienze e Innovazione Tecnologica-DISIT, Università del Piemonte Orientale "A. Avogadro", Viale T. Michel 11, 15121, Alessandria (AL), Italy.
authors.forename: Elisa
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Bona
authors.forename: Guido
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Lingua
authors.forename: Paola
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Manassero
authors.forename: Simone
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Cantamessa
authors.forename: Francesco
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Marsano
authors.forename: Valeria
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Todeschini
authors.forename: Andrea
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Copetta
authors.forename: Giovanni
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: D'Agostino
authors.forename: Nadia
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Massa
authors.forename: Lorena
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Avidano
authors.forename: Elisa
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Gamalero
authors.forename: Graziella
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Berta
mesh_terms: D035264:Flowers / Q000254:growth & development / Q000378:metabolism; D031985:Fragaria / Q000254:growth & development / Q000378:metabolism / Q000382:microbiology*; D005638:Fruit / Q000254:growth & development / Q000378:metabolism; D005658:Fungi / Q000502:physiology*; D038821:Mycorrhizae / Q000502:physiology*; D009584:Nitrogen / Q000032:analysis / Q000378:metabolism*; D010758:Phosphorus / Q000032:analysis / Q000378:metabolism*; D011549:Pseudomonas / Q000502:physiology*; D012988:Soil Microbiology; D014815:Vitamins / Q000378:metabolism*
chemical_list: D014815:Vitamins; D010758:Phosphorus; D009584:Nitrogen