Influence of Bio and Mineral Fertilizers on Strawberry Performance Grown in Containers Under Different Irrigation Regimes

Abstract

This study was conducted to evaluate the impact of a partial replacement of full doses of mineral NPK fertilizers with friendly soil microbes enriched with mineral fertilizers on the nutritional status, yield parameters and fruit quality attributes of ‘Marmolada’ strawberry under drought stress. The experiment included 13 treatments; T1– control (no fertilizer), T2 – NPK, T3 – Filamentous Fungi (FF), T4 – Bacterial Strains (BS), T5 – NPK + FF, NPK + BS, T6 – NPK + Polifoska 6 (Poli 6) + BS, T7 – Urea 100% + FF, T8 – NPK+Poli 6, T9 – NPK + Super Fos Dar (SFD) 40 100% + BS, T11 – Urea 60% + FF, T12 – Poli 6 60% + BS, T13 – Super Fos Dar 40, 60% + BS. All 13 treatments were done under full- and half-dose water requirement supply. The studied characteristics included the mineral content and chlorophyll content of leaves, number of inflorescences, number of flowers, yield, fruit weight, Brix, pH, total acidity, and firmness. The results showed that the treatments under a full dose of water supplement gave satisfactory results in all the studied characteristics except for the number of flowers, fruit weight, Brix and pH. The highest yields under a full dose of irrigation were harvested from T6. On the other hand, all the treatments that included FF or BS enriched with NPK showed remarkable effects on the concerned traits except Brix, pH, and firmness. Treatments with NPK plus FF or BS succeeded to decrease the reduction in yield when plants were subjected to a 50% irrigation regime. The partial application of NPK mycorrhiza on the protective system in strawberry leaves under drought stress.