Effect of different substrates on growth and quality of Strawberry cv. chandler in soilless culture

Abstract

Strawberry (Fragaria × ananassa Duch) is one of the most important widely consumed small fruit in the world. The cultivated fruit is popular for its bright color, aroma and texture, which contain a number of nutrients for good health. The future of soilless culture will depend on the development of new production systems and substrates that are competitive in costs and returns in comparison to conventional agriculture. In present study the individual/combination of three different substrates, viz., coco peat, vermiculite and perlite were employed while sand as control. Fifteen treatments singly/in combinations with different concentrations (v/v) were studied for different growth and quality related parameters of strawberry cultivar (Chandler) under passively ventilated green house conditions. The results revealed that the S7 (coco peat + vermiculite 25:75) produced the maximum petiole length (16.77cm), canopy spread (42.75cm), crown diameter (2.10cm), shoot fresh wt. (17.16g), shoot dry weight (4.36g), root fresh weight (16.53g), root fry wt. (5.13g), number of leaves (17), total leaf area (1542cm2), fruit wt.(10.76gm), fruit dia (27.48mm), fruit length (29.89mm) whereas the treatment S15 (Coco peat + Perlite Vermiculite, 50:25:25) produced maximum plant height (28.36), shoot length (23.13), root length (32.40cm) and TSS (10.8 B°) and lowest acidity (0.86%) while as minimum plant height (15.10cm), no. of leaves (8) canopy spread (21.17cm), crown dia (1.50cm), root length (9.43cm), shoot fresh wt (5.60g), shoot dry wt. (1.20g), root fresh wt (7.70g), root dry wt.(1.63g), leaf area (479.0cm') were recorded in control (sand). Hence form current study it is confirmed that coco peat in combination with vermiculite (25:75) and coco peat in combination with Perlite and vermiculite (50: 25:25) produced maximum growth as well as good quality fruit in strawberry cv. Chandler.