Supplementary Foliar Applications and Their Effect on the Agronomic Behavior of Strawberry in a Vertical System

Aims: The objective was to evaluate the agronomic behavior of the strawberry crop under supplementary foliar applications in a vertical system.

Study Design: The experimental design used in each test was the completely randomized experimental model with six treatments and four repetitions each. The treatments were Control, Estimulante plus®, AeroBiot®, BasfoliarAktiv®, Basfoliar PS® and HPLS.

Place and Duration of Study: The research was carried out under a greenhouse in Saltillo, Coahuila, Mexico. From October 20, 2019 to February 20, 2020.

Methodology: The San Andreas strawberry variety was used, the vertical system consisted of 4” PVC tubes, 1.2 m long, with 5 cm diameter perforations, a mixture of peat moss and perlite was used as substrate in a ratio 70:30 %. The foliar applications were carried out every week, stimulant plus®, AeroBiot®, Basfoliar Activ® and HPLS were at a rate of 2 ml L-1, Basfoliar PS® was at a rate of 2 g L-1, the control was only distilled water.

Results: The foliar application of AeroBiot® statistically improved the average weight of the fruit and exceeded the control by 16.7 %, the length of the fruit was statistically similar between the applications of BasfoliarActiv®, AeroBiot®, Basfoliar PS® and HPLS, the rest of the variables showed a similar statistical behavior.

Conclusion: The agronomic performance of strawberry cultivation in a vertical system was similar between supplementary foliar applications of products containing macro and microelements, amino acids and protein hydrolysates, while worm leachates such as AeroBiot® improve the average weight of the fruit.