Effect of 6-benzylaminopurine and methyl jasmonate on yield and quality improvement of the strawberry ‘Albion’

To study the effects of 6-benzylaminopurine (6-BAP) and methyl jasmonate (MJ) on various quantitative and qualitative characteristics of the Albion strawberry, a factorial experiment based on randomized complete blocks design was carried out with three replications in a greenhouse located in Damavand county. The first factor was 6-BAP at two levels (control and 100 mg/L) and the second factor was MJ at three levels (control, 100 and 200 µM). Plants were sprayed twice with 6-BAP and thrice with MJ, during the vegetative and the reproductive growth phases, respectively. Application of 6-BAP during the vegetative stage, resulted in production of plants with more and larger leaves and increased crown diameter. The highest fruit count and weight, SPAD, flavor index, total anthocyanin and fruit shelf-life, was related to the 100 mg/L 6-BAP + 200 µM MJ treatment. Using cytokinin combined with each of the MJ concentrations, resulted in significant improvement of the plant yield and fruit firmness compared to the control. Therefore, pre-harvest application of these plant growth regulators can be suggested for increasing production rates, improving the quality, and the shelf-life of this vulnerable fruit and also reducing its waste.