EFFECT OF DIFFERENT SUBSTRATE MEDIA AND IRRIGATION ON FLOWERING AND PRODUCTION OF STRAWBERRY (Fragaria spp)

The present experiment was carried out in greenhouse during 2018/2019 and 2019/2020 seasons to determine the effects of substrates media / combination and macro and micro nutrients within irrigation water. Uniform runners of strawberry cv. chandler were selected and planted in 12 and 13 th October 2018 and 2019 seasons, respectively, at a distance of 20 cm x 20 cm in 1m x 1m beds filled with eight different growing media combinations viz, sand (100%), peat moss (100%), vermiculite (100%), perlite (100%), peat moss: vermiculite (50% :50%), peat moss : perlite (50% :50%), vermiculite : perlite (50% :50%), and peat moss: vermiculite: perlite (33.3%: 33.3% : 33.3%) with three replications.The plants were irrigated at 1-2 days interval through micro drip irrigation during the initial stages and through drip irrigation during fruiting stages, while the treatments of macro and micro-nutrients dose of fertilizers were applied through fertigation using soluble fertilizers. The irrigation water was included two treatments, i.e. top water used as control, and fertilizer water which included macro and micro – nutrients, (%) i.e. NP K Ca – Fe – Zn – B – Cu and Mn (1 – 2 – 20.3 – 0.1 – 0.2 – 0.10.2 and 0.1), respectively. The experiment was performed in the layout of split plot design, where, the substrate media was distributed at the main plot, while the irrigation water without or with fertilizers was distributed at the sub plot in three replications.