Plant growth, yield and fruit quality of Fragaria × ananassa genotypes under supplemental LED lighting system and substrate cultivation
2019
Palha, M. G. | Pestana, F. | Oliveira, C. M.
The use of substrates in protected strawberry production is increasing rapidly among growers with the advantages of prolonging the growing season, increasing yield and improving fruit quality. Under protected crop it has been reported that low light conditions may reduce plant productivity. An experiment was conducted from November 2014 to May 2015 to evaluate if light levels during autumn and winter period were limiting for strawberry growth under Portuguese conditions. Plant growth, precocity, total yield and fruit quality of eight Fragaria × ananassa genotypes grown under LED light and without supplemental light, using ‘Camarosa’ as standard cultivar were examined. Fresh bare-rooted plants were cultivated in two commercial substrates, a substrate mix (40% pine bark + 40% peat + 20% coconut fiber) and coconut fiber (100%), under glasshouse located in Oeiras (38°41’N, 09°19’W). Plants exposed to supplemental LED lighting showed a tendency to be more vigorous although this effect was not statistically significant. Fruit yield did not change with LED lighting but on contrast there was a strong effect of substrate (p<0.001) and cultivar (p<0.001) on fruit yield and fruit quality. April and May yields and total fruit yield were higher in plants cultivated in coconut substrate showing higher commercial fruit size. Compared to ‘Camarosa’, ‘Rabida’ plants yielded more and produced the highest early fruit yield among cultivars while other cultivars equaled or produced less. Results demonstrated that light conditions were not limiting for strawberry production in this experiment and that the variation of growth and yield of Fragaria × ananassa relied above all on genotype and substrate type.
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