Silicon chelates from plant waste promote in vitro shoot production and physiological changes in strawberry plantlets

For the first time, the effect of mechanocomposite (MC) based on biogenic silica and green-tea catechins on axillary shoot formation, physiological and biochemical characteristics of two strawberry cultivars (‘Alpha’ and ‘Solnechnaya polyanka’) was studied. The shoots were cultured on Gamborg-Eveleg’s medium (B5) supplemented with 0.75 mg l−1 6-benzylaminopurine (BA) (control) and 0.0, 2.5, 5.0 or 10.0 mg l−1 MC for 60 days. The highest regeneration responses (100%) and axillary shoot proliferation (up to 15.06 ± 0.81) correlating with increasing fresh weight (FW), dry weight (DW) on the media supplemented with 5.0 mg l−1 MC for both genotypes were recorded. The improvement in shoot regeneration accompanied with enhancing some antioxidant enzymes activity (superoxide dismutase and peroxidase) on the media supplemented with 5.0 mg l−1 MC for both genotypes. The increase in endogenous H2O2 concentration displaying a high morphogenetic potential in the presence of 2.5 and 5.0 mg l−1 MC was only observed in cv. ‘Alpha’ shoots. Overall, a positive effect of MC on the quality of in vitro shoots was established. Concentrations of photosynthetic pigments (chlorophylls a and b, and carotenoids), and their ratios (chlorophyll a/b, chlorophyll (a + b)/carotenoids) indicated a high physiological state of the plantlets grown with 5.0 mg l−1 MC. The accumulation of endogenous cytokinin (iP) and indole-3-acetic acid (IAA) is associated with the effect of MC in various concentrations on the organogenic response of both cultivars. Thus, the outcomes of this study can be utilized for the development of new systems for a healthy planting material production using “green chemistry” approaches and recommended for commercial strawberry micropropagation. Silicon chelates from plant waste are the useful component of plant tissue culture media for optimizing commercial strawberry micropropagation and preventing the occurrence of in vitro-derived disorders in plantlets.