Impacts of alternative growing medium in combination with Jeevamrit on strawberry growth, and fruit quality parameters under open field condition

Abstract

The perennial herbaceous strawberry (Fragaria ananassa Duch.) is a member of the Rosaceae family. The farmed strawberry has established itself as a major player in the global fruit industry because to its good economic return and delightful flavor. For this concern an investigation was carried out with six treatments and three replications according to Completely Randomized Design (CRD). The treatment consisted of seven different rates of growing media, T1: Vermicompost (70%) + Rice husk (30%) + Jeevamrit, T2: Cocopeat (50%) + Vermicompost (50%) + Jeevamrit, T3: Cocopeat (33.3%) +Vermicompost (33.3%) + Rice husk (33.3%) + Jeevamrit, T4: Cocopeat (70%) + Rice husk (30%) + Jeevamrit, T5: Cocopeat (50%) +Vermicompost (30%) + Rice husk (20%) + Jeevamrit, T6: Soil (Control). According to the findings, applying of various growing media resulted significant impact on growth and yield of strawberry. Vegetative characteristics, namely number of leaves, root length, length of the runners, number of runners, number of flowers, yield per plant, berry length, berry volume, as well as the chemicals parameters total soluble solids (TSS), titratable acidity, were observed under T5 treatment when compared to soil (Control) treatment. As a result, T5 treatment showed great and significant influence on strawberry output and development and hence it is recommended.