EFFECTS OF IRRIGATION AND SOIL MULCHING IN DIFFERENT GROWING ENVIRONMENTS ON STRAWBERRY YIELD AND QUALITY

A field experiment was conducted to assess the effects of irrigation and soil mulches on the growth, yield and quality of strawberries in different cultivation environments. There were eight treatments in a randomized complete block (RCB) design with three replications used in this experiment. Plants grown under white polyethylene grew taller and more spread out than those in the open field environment. The experimental soil was sandy loam and the field capacity was 29.6%. Relating growing environments, a significant difference was seen in strawberry yield under covered field shaded with white polyethylene and drip irrigation (410.50 g) than those in the open field with manual spray irrigation (337.26 g). The highest gross yield (10.00 t/ha) was observed in covered field (Fc) with alternate day drip irrigation. The total sugar and reducing sugar contents of the strawberries produced in the open field were 3.33% and 0.81%, respectively, for black polyethylene mulches with 2-days irrigation intervals, for the covered field they were 2.40% and 0.60%, respectively used in drip irrigation. The plants growing under covered field with drip irrigation has enhanced total anthocyanin but recorded the lowest vitamin C. The plants in the straw mulch plots used more water compared to those in the polyethylene mulch. The highest water use efficiencies were found using polyethylene mulch for both in the covered and open field environments with an irrigation intervals of 2-day.