Effect of Different Concentrations of Nitrogen, Phosphorus and Potassium on Some Quantitative and Qualitative Characteristics of Strawberry cv. Selva in Hydroponic Culture

To study the effect of nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium concentrations on yield and growth index of strawberry cv. ‘Selva’ in hydroponic conditions, an experiment was carried out as factorial arrangement in completely randomized design with three replications. The culture medium used in this study was a mixture of peat and perlite in a ratio of 70% and 30%, respectively. Treatments included nitrogen at three levels (100, 130 and 160 mg/L) from ammonium nitrate source, phosphorus (50, 75, and 100 mg/L) from potassium dihydrogen phosphate and potassium (160, 190, and 220 mg/L) from potassium sulfate source. Sampling was done at the end of the fruiting period and data were recorded on shoot dry and fresh weight, leaf area, fruit weight, titratable acid, total soluble solids, yield, and number of fruit per plant. ANOVA results showed that the different levels of nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium had significant effects on yield and growth of strawberry. Treatment N160P100K190 produced the highest fresh and dry weight and leaf area. Treatments N130P100K160 and N100P75K220 produced the highest yield with an average of, respectively, 79.27 and 77.77 grams per plant and were not significantly different. Also, treatments N130P50K220, N130P75K190, and N130P100K160 produced the highest weight of fruits with an average of 10.3, 9.38, and 7.65 g, respectively. Titratable acidity and soluble solids increased with increasing levels of the treatments. Treatment of N130P100K160 was evaluated as more appropriate than the others because this concentration produced strawberry fruits with optimum quality and quantity and lower nutrient application levels, leading to lower salinity in the culture medium.