FOLIAR APPLICATION OF MICRONUTRIENTS IMPROVES GROWTH, PRODUCTIVITY AND FRUIT QUALITY OF STRAWBERRY (Fragaria ananassa Duch) - M. Z. Farid1; K. M. Qureshi; S. H. Shah2; A. A. Qureshi; M. Umair; H. Shafiq (Journal of Animal and Plant Sciences, 2020)
Strawberry is an excellent source of vitamin C, potassium, secondary metabolites, sugar and fiber, and it has delicious flavor and taste. Soil fertility is one of the most important problems in arid and semi-arid areas. Therefore, foliar nutrient supply is an effective method to fulfill plant nutrition. It provides the sufficient amount of nutrients for successful crop development in case of unavailability of plant nutrients from the soil. Therefore, this study was conducted to evaluate the influence of foliar feeding of micronutrients on vegetative, reproductive and fruit quality of strawberry cv. Chandler. The results revealed that the maximum plant height, crown diameter, number of leaves, number of trusses, number of runners per plant and leaf area were recorded from Cash+ @ 3.5 ml/l, while fresh weight of leaves, dry weight of leaves, fresh weight of plants, dry weight of plants and canopy size were improved by the foliar spray of Cash+ @ 2.5 ml/l. Similarly, the maximum total soluble solids, ascorbic acid and titratable acidity were figured out for plants sprayed with Cash+ @ 3.5 ml/l. The reproductive growth of chandler was improved by the foliar spray of Libreal TMX @ 2.5g/l. Our studies clearly indicate that foliar spray of micronutrient sources can be recommended for regulating vegetative and reproductive growth as well as fruit quality of strawberry.
Keywords: journal article; Foliar application; Fruit quality; Micronutrients; Reproductive characteristics; Strawberry; Vegetative growth