Mulch type influences plant growth, albinism disorder and fruit quality in strawberry (Fragaria×ananassaDusch.)

Abstract

Introduction. Albinism is a serious physiological disorder of strawberries in which fruits appear bloated, develop poor color and flavor, and become susceptible to fruit rot during storage. Many factors have been reported to be associated with albinism, but vigorous vegetative growth of the plants is considered as the primary factor. Mulching is the most important cultural practice in strawberry, which is known to influence plant growth, yield and fruit quality. Our studies aimed at observing the influence of different types of mulch materials on strawberry growth and albinism disorder. Materials and methods. Studies were conducted with five cul- tivars (Sweet Charlie, Chandler, Douglas, Fern and Etna) cultivated with three types of mulch materials (black polyethylene, white polyethylene and paddy straw). No mulch was used as a control. Observations were recorded on plant growth parameters, albinism incidence and fruit quality parameters of five cultivars under different mulch materials. Results and discussion. All growth parameters were better with mulching than with control. Among the different types of mulch materials, plants had the best growth with black polyethylene, but the fruits were more affected by albinism as compared with those cultivated with paddy straw mulch. Among the cul- tivars, the plants of Etna showed the most vigorous growth, but their fruits had the highest inci- dence of albinism (49.88%); those of Sweet Charlie had the lowest incidence (20.74%), primarily because of the close relationship between plant growth and albinism. Conclusion. Black pol- yethylene mulch favored better plant growth in strawberry, but enhanced the incidence of albi- nism in a sub-tropical climate as compared with paddy straw. Thus, paddy straw is the best option for use as mulch for strawberry in warmer localities.