The strawberry is among the most perishable fruits in the world — no protective skin, a soft flesh that bruises and softens within days, and a relentless enemy in Botrytis grey mould. It is also non-climacteric, so ethylene blockers do little — in trial, 1-MCP actually performed slightly worse than doing nothing. Hi Cell Renova is a botanical treatment that works on two fronts at once: inhibiting the enzymes that soften the berry, and suppressing the mould that rots it. Over 13 days of cold storage, Renova held firmness 29.5% above untreated fruit while leaving sweetness untouched.
Two enemies, one treatment
A strawberry is finished by one of two things: it goes soft, or it goes mouldy — usually both. Enzymatic softening breaks down the flesh from within, while Botrytis cinerea, the grey mould, spreads across the surface and through the punnet. Most treatments address only one. Renova’s botanical actives — including D-limonene, which has documented efficacy against grey mould on strawberry — work against both, holding the berry firm while suppressing the fungus. And because strawberry is non-climacteric, the ethylene-blocking route that 1-MCP relies on has nothing to offer here.
The enzyme pathways Renova targets
Strawberry softening and decline are enzymatic and oxidative — the cell walls break down, the surface browns, and the calyx wilts. Renova acts across these pathways together.
Remarkable at a fraction of the dose
The trial’s standout finding was efficiency. Renova-VOL Micro applied at just 0.25% concentration held firmness statistically equal to the full 1% dose (p = 0.966) — a quarter of the material for the same result. For a high-volume, thin-margin crop like strawberry, that combination of strong effect and low dose is exactly what makes a treatment commercially viable at scale.
Proven in a 13-day cold-storage trial
Trial Hi Cell STR6/03/2026 — peak-season strawberry (Fragaria × ananassa), Mahabaleshwar, India, held 13 days in cold storage at 1–5 °C. Renova-VOL and the low-dose Renova-VOL Micro grade were evaluated against 1-MCP and an untreated control, across firmness, Brix and weight.
The bottom line: No fruit tests a preservation technology like the strawberry — soft, skinless, and hunted by grey mould from the moment it is picked. Renova meets both threats at once: it holds the berry firm (+29.5% over untreated) while its botanical actives suppress the Botrytis that rots it — and it does so at a quarter of the expected dose, without touching the sweetness. Where 1-MCP offered nothing, Renova gives the most fragile fruit in the basket a real shelf life.