Production of strawberry cultivars in a closed system of growing on substrate with transplants of different origins

Abstract

The growing of strawberries in substrate has grown because it is a profitable way of production, easy to work, and which reduces the occurrence of diseases. Like closed growing systems they have a low environmental impact. The imported strawberry transplants bare root are considered more productive, however they arrive late in Brazil, shortening their production cycle, so transplants produced under local conditions would be an alternative to increase producers' income. Thus, the objective of this work was to evaluate the productive result of strawberry transplants produced under local conditions and imported bare root, growing in a closed growing system soilless, on a carbonized rice husk substrate and with the addition of organic compost. Three experimental factors were evaluated: 1st) substrate: carbonized rice husk (CRH) and CRH with 20% organic compound (OC) (CRH + OC); 2nd) cultivars: ‘Camarosa’ and ‘San Andreas’; and 3rd) transplants origin: bare root imported, and runners plants produced under local conditions. The local runner's plants outperformed imported bare root in relation to the number of fruits, however, the imported bare root provided greater average fresh weight of fruits. The runner’s plants of the cultivar 'San Andreas' produced 732.9 g plant-1, higher than the production of imported bare root, with 44.9% of the harvest harvested in the months of July and August. The 'Camarosa' cultivar didn't show the difference in yield between local and imported transplants. Transplants of cv. 'San Andreas' shallow rooted directly into the slabs under local natural conditions can guarantee earlier harvest, greater production, and higher fruit yield. As for the substrate, plant growth and commercial productivity were not influenced by the addition of OC to CRH. The results indicate that the addition of OC to the CRH has no influence on plant growth and commercial fruit production.