Rooting and growth characteristics of ‘Maehyang’ strawberry cutting transplants affected by different growing media including decomposed granite

Abstract

This study was conducted to examine the effects of different rooting media that include decomposed granite on the rooting characteristics and growth of strawberry cutting transplants. The six rooting media that were used in the experiment included coir (CO), mixed media (MIX, coir:perlite = 8:2, v/v), perlite (PL), decomposed granite 1–3 mm (GS), decomposed granite 3–5 mm (GM), and decomposed granite 5–9 mm (GL). The cuttings of strawberries were transplanted on January 4, 2021. Humidification was carried out for 14 days. At 14 days after cutting, a rooting rate of 100% was confirmed in all media. However, cutting transplants in GM and GL, which were quite large in particle size, showed a low likelihood of survival. At 28 days after cutting, the fresh weights of shoot and root were significantly higher in CO, as compared to the others, but the dry weights showed no significant differences regardless of the growing media. The root growth of strawberry cutting transplants showed the highest values in GS at 14 days after cutting (and end of humidification). However, at 28 days after cutting, the transplants in the CO medium showed better root growth than those in the other media. Chlorophyll fluorescence values (Fv/Fm) were decreased at 28 days after cutting in the GM and GL media. In conclusion, we found that GS has potential for use as a strawberry rooting medium.