Effect of planting time and mulching material on quality of strawberry

An investigation was laid out to optimize the planting time and mulching material for higher productivity of good quality strawberry under subtropical conditions of Jammu. The experiment was laid out in a randomized block design (Factorial) with five dates of planting time starting from ZS: September at weekly interval upto ZS: October, 2007 and three levels of mulching. Fruit length (3.65 em), fruit diameter (2.73 em), fruit weight (14.32 g), fruit volume (14.76 cc), number of achenes (357.09), ascorbic acid content (66.98 mg per 100 g of berries) and anthocyanin content (0.18 Ols) were significantly higher in 9^th October planting than fruits harvested on other dates. Similarly fruit length (3.64 em), fruit diameter (2.65 cm), fruit weight (14.69 g), fruit volume (15.09 cc), number of achenes (359.66), TSS (6.76°B), TSS/acidratio (9.02), ascorbic acid content (67.78 mg per 100 g of berries) and anthocyanin content (0.18 Ols) were significantly higher in fruits harvested from plants mulched with black polyethylene.