TITLE:
Virus-Free Strawberry Seedling Production: Advances in Elimination Technologies, Diagnostics and Standardized Propagation Systems
AUTHORS:
Ye Zhang, Lingxuan Lan, Xuehai Fan, Ruiping Qin, Xiaorong Yang
KEYWORDS:
Strawberry, Virus-Free Seedling, High-Throughput Sequencing, Viromics, Rapid Reproduction
JOURNAL NAME:
Agricultural Sciences,
Vol.17 No.7,
July
21,
2026
ABSTRACT: Strawberry is a globally important berry crop, but clonal propagation through runners facilitates the vertical transmission and accumulation of viruses and viroids, leading to seedling degeneration, reduced vigour, poor fruit quality, fruit deformity and yield losses. Strawberry viral diseases are difficult to control because of their high diversity, frequent latent and mixed infections, non-specific symptoms and long-distance dissemination through infected planting materials. In this review, “virus-free seedling” refers to planting material certified negative, within the detection limits of specified assays, for a defined panel of strawberry viruses and viroids at designated propagation stages; it does not imply freedom from all pathogens. Virus-free seedling production, primarily based on shoot-tip culture and supported by thermotherapy, chemotherapy, cryotherapy, anther culture, rapid propagation and molecular diagnostics, is an effective strategy for restoring seedling health and improving propagation quality. Recent advances in high-throughput sequencing, viromics, RT-PCR, RT-qPCR, multiplex PCR, isothermal amplification, lateral-flow assays and protected nursery systems have accelerated the shift from experience-based propagation to standardized, diagnostic-guided and certification-oriented production. This review summarizes the occurrence characteristics of strawberry viral diseases, the theoretical basis of virus elimination, key elimination technologies, molecular diagnostics, quality assessment, rapid propagation and industrial applications. It also proposes an integrated framework linking virus elimination, hierarchical diagnostics, genetic fidelity assessment, protected nursery management, vector control and traceable certification, providing a reference for standardized production, quality control and industrial application of virus-free strawberry seedlings.