Effects of different growing systems and cultivars on plant growth, fruit quality and yield of strawberry in soilless culture

In Turkey, along with the conventional method of strawberry production, soilless culture is also in practice intensively, especially along the Mediterranean coastal area.
Short day cultivars are grown in soilless culture not only for early harvesting and obtaining higher productivity inside greenhouses, but also number of plants per unit area is increased by using different growing systems.
In this research, effect of soilless production systems under different types of greenhouses on plant growth, yield and fruit quality were evaluated.
Three cultivars of strawberry ‘Camarosa’, ‘Candonga’, and ‘Rubygem’ were grown with three different systems: conventional soilless system in plastic high tunnel (CSS), single shelf system (SSS) and double shelf systems (DSS) in modern construction greenhouses.
Coco peat was used as a substrate in horizontal bag cultures.
Results revealed that, modern greenhouse applications were advantageous with respect to the first flowering and harvest dates, but yield plant^-1 did not differ significantly among the treatments.
There were differences between the treatments for fruit quality traits (fruit weight and soluble solids). ‘Rubygem’ was found superior with respect to soluble solids content, whereas ‘Candonga’ had the largest fruit size.

III Balkan Symposium on Fruit Growing

N. Adak, S. Gozlekci

strawberry, plastic high tunnel, modern greenhouses, shelf systems, cultivars

https://doi.org/10.17660/ActaHortic.2016.1139.97