Preface

This book presents recent developments and new production methods in strawberry cultivation. It provides a broad overview and comprehensive discussion of current challenges in production, consumption, breeding, disease and pest control, and postharvest processing. The aim of the book is to bring together information about topics including the world distribution of strawberry plants, genetic resources, reproduction techniques, biotic and abiotic stresses and diseases caused by climate change, the challenges of control methods, and the benefits of strawberries for human health. All the chapters present detailed analyses written by experts on the subject. The book is an essential resource for virtually everyone involved in strawberry research and development, including academics, industry professionals, and farmers who produce strawberries commercially, as well as consumers.

The strawberry plant is a good source of antioxidants due to the vitamins A and C and flavonoids that it contains due to anthocyanin, which gives the fruit its bright red color, quercetin pigment and, especially, antioxidant effect. It is also known that strawberries, together with their antioxidant effect, prevent the increase of free radicals that cause various types of cancer and oxidative stress, and are a dietary fruit. As a result of these characteristics, there has been an increasing trend toward the consumption of strawberries and other berry fruits in recent years. Strawberries are among the plants suitable for intensive agricultural production, and their suitability for vertical, horizontal and soilless cultivation is attracting the attention of new investors. In terms of processing technology, they are a raw material source for many food sectors.

Special thanks are due to assistant editor İlbilge Oğuz and Author Service Manager Romina Rovan for their courteous help and dedicated efforts, without which this book would never have been published.

> **Nesibe Ebru Kafkas** Professor, Faculty of Agriculture, Department of Horticulture, University of Çukurova, Adana, Turkey

**1**

Section 1

Cultivation Techniques

of Strawberries

Section 1
