Impact of diverse substrate combinations and container types on strawberry quality in soilless cultivation

This study investigated the impact of various growing substrate combinations and container types on the quality attributes of Sweet Charlie strawberries grown in a soilless cultivation system. The experiment, conducted in a hi-tech greenhouse over two consecutive seasons (2013-14 and 2014-15), evaluated seven distinct substrate combinations and three container types: polyethylene bags, PVC pots and earthen pots. Key quality parameters assessed included TSS-acid ratio, total sugars, reducing sugars, ascorbic acid and anthocyanin content. Results consistently showed that both substrate combinations and container types significantly influenced the evaluated quality attributes. Substrate cocopeat + perlite + vermicompost in a 4:1:2 ratio generally led to the highest TSS-acid ratio, total sugars and reducing sugars in both seasons. Control consistently resulted in the lowest values for these parameters. For container types, earthen pots were consistently associated with the highest TSS-acid ratio, total sugars and reducing sugars. Interestingly, polyethylene bags yielded the highest ascorbic acid content. The interaction between substrates and containers was found to be non-significant for TSS-acid ratio and ascorbic acid, indicating that the best substrate and container effects operated independently. However, significant interactions were observed for total sugars and reducing sugars. These findings highlight the critical role of selecting appropriate growing media and container designs for optimizing strawberry fruit quality in soilless cultivation.