Effects of Organic Fertilizer Application on Strawberry (Fragaria vesca L.) Cultivation

In the agricultural production process, the production and environmental costs of chemical fertilizers used to increase yield and quality and the question of how to evaluate the herbal and animal wastes that arise in the agricultural production process are important issues. The main purpose of using herbal and animal wastes that arise in the agricultural production process as an alternative fertilizer to chemical fertilizers is to reduce production costs and to ensure sustainability in agricultural production by reintroducing these wastes to the economy. In this study, the effects of vermicompost, chicken manure, farm manure, and chemical fertilizers on product yield and quality, plant nutrients, and economic profitability in strawberry cultivation were investigated. In the study, strawberries were used as the plant material and vermicompost, chicken manure, farm (cattle) manure, and chemical fertilizers were used as plant nutrition materials. In the study, statistically significant differences were found in the parameters of yield, quality, plant nutrient content in leaves, and economic profitability compared to chemical fertilizers. In terms of product yield and some quality parameters, organic fertilizers (worm manure and chicken manure in yield, total sugar and nitrate accumulation in fruit, chicken manure in vitamin C) gave better positive results than chemical fertilizers. In the macronutrient content of the leaves, chicken manure in terms of nitrogen and phosphorus; vermicompost, chicken manure, and farm manure in terms of potassium; and vermicompost and chicken manure in terms of calcium all gave better results than chemical fertilizers. In the micronutrient content of the leaves, chicken manure in terms of iron, vermicompost in terms of zinc, and chicken manure and farm manure in terms of copper gave better results than chemical fertilizers. In terms of economic profitability, while more profit was obtained from vermicompost, chicken manure and farm manure applications compared to chemical fertilizer applications, the highest profitability was obtained from vermicompost application. The findings of this study support the idea that vermicompost, chicken manure, and farm manure can be recommended as an alternative plant nutrition input to chemical fertilizers in strawberry cultivation.