Precocity, plant productivity and fruit quality of strawberry plants grown in soil and soilless culture

摘要

The day-neutral strawberry cultivars Brighton and Selva were cultivated in plastic pots filled with a soil mixture or hydroponically in vertical plastic bags filled with perlite, with a view to identifying the most suitable cultivar for out-of-season production in soilless cultivation. Selva gave the highest marketable (259 g/plant) and total (315 g/plant) yields in soilless culture, while in soil the yields of this cultivar were significantly higher (382 and 467 g marketable and total yield/plant,respectively). However, because of the higher plant density per stremma in soilless culture, the estimated marketable and total yields in soilless culture were about 6207 and 7571 kg/stremma, respectively, compared with only 1915 and 2332 kg/stremma respectively, in soil culture. Selva produced more fruits than Brighton in the extra (>20 g/fruit) + A (>14 g/fruit) size categories (53% in soilless and 49% in soil), while Brighton produced more fruits of the B (>9 g/fruit) category (37%) and only 30% inthe E + A categories. The greatest number of leaves and fresh and dry plant weight were observed in Selva. Leaf number, fresh and dry plant weight and crown number/plant decreased in the lower part of the vertical bags in soilless cultivation. Soluble solids content was greatest in fruits of Brighton and firmness was highest in fruits of Selva. Cultivation technique did not affect fruit quality characteristics significantly, although in soilless culture, soluble solids content was lower in fruits from the bottom of the bags than in those from the top. [1 stremma = 1000 m2].