STUDY OF THE MODE OF ACTION OF INICIUM^®, A PRODUCT DEVELOPED SPECIFICALLY TO OVERCOME TRANSPLANT STRESS IN STRAWBERRY PLANTS

For strawberry plants, transplanting is one of the most stressful stages in the entire life cycle, especially if an environmental stress factor occurs within the following days. Root development at the initial phases and settlement into a new environment can jeopardize future crop production and commercial quality. Inicium^® is a totally natural product based on characterized peptides of low molecular weight with very high root activity that has been especially developed by the R and D Department of Bioiberica, S.A. to overcome transplantation stress. In this study, the product’s mode of action was tested under controlled conditions by measuring the expression of proteins that act on transplant-related stress and favour rooting. The application of Inicium^® after transplanting induced the expression of defence proteins (PRs) such as PR-2 (glucanase) and PR-3 (chitinase), which play a key role in plant pathogen control and plant development processes. Results from field tests on strawberry plants (cultivars ‘Ventana’ and ‘Camarosa’) showed that the application of the product increased precociousness and yield, while improving crop-quality parameters.