Quality improvement of fresh strawberry (Fragaria sp. 'Earlibrite') through applying salt stress treatment in a tropical environment

Quality of fresh strawberry (Fragaria sp. 'Earlibrite') is still not suitable with the consumer preference in Indonesia. We applied the salt stress treatment method through combination of different concentrations of nutrient solution adding NaCl (20 and 60 mmol L^-1) and duration of spray nutrient solution (100 mL day^-1 and 200 mL 2 days^-1). Then, the strawberry fruit were compared with the control condition without salt stress treatment. The strawberry fruit was cultivated using conventional method using soil in the valley of Ketep, Sawangan, Magelang, Central Java, Indonesia. Quality parameters of fresh strawberry which were measured include size and weight changes, texture of skin, water content, ascorbic acid content, and soluble solid content. Salt stress treatment using NaCl will keep the skin of strawberry hard, increase soluble solid content and maintain stable ascorbic acid content during storage condition of tropical environment. However, size, weight changes and water content were relatively stable during this storage. Combination of 20 mmol L^-1 NaCl with spray of nutrient solution 200 mL 2 days^-1 can make better quality of strawberry, especially in strawberry taste and appearance, compared with non-salt stress treatment cultivated in a tropical conventional production.