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Department of Plant Sciences

UC Davis

Chloride improves fruit yield and quality of strawberry (Fragaria × ananassa Duch.)

Abstract

As a micronutrient chlorine fulfills several important functions in plant growth and photosynthesis. Nevertheless, strawberry (Fragaria × ananassa Duch.) is characterized as a chloride-sensitive species. Two experiments were conducted to investigate the effect of a moderate chloride nutrition on fruit yield and quality of strawberry. In the first experiment, strawberry plants were fertilized with 0, 0.5, 1.0, or 2.0 g K per plant, given either as KCl or K2SO4. In addition, macronutrients N, P, and Mg were supplied in sufficient amounts. In the second experiment, strawberry plants were fertilized with 0, 0.25, 0.5, or 1.0 g K per plant, given either as KCl or K2SO4. In addition to the macronutrient fertilization of N, P, and Mg all plants of the second experiment were fertilized with micronutrients Cu, Zn, B, Mn, and Mo. In the first experiment, KCl-treated plants showed higher number of fruits and fruit yield, as well as higher concentrations of glucose, fructose, and sucrose in the fruits compared to K2SO4-treated plants. In the second experiment, no differences between treatments were observed, except for a higher Mn concentration in the shoots of KCl-treated plants. The results indicate that chloride fertilization can compensate unsufficient Mn supply by either improving Mn availability in the soil or Mn uptake of the plant. Thus chloride fertilization even of chloride-sensitive cultivars can improve yield and fruit quality.

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