COMBINING ORGANIC, INORGANIC AND MYCORRHIZAL FUNGI FERTILIZATION TO IMPROVE THE QUALITY OF STRAWBERRIES (Fragaria × ananassa Duch).

Abstract

The strawberry Fragaria ? ananassa Duch has a worldwide importance owing to its commercial production volume and characteristic taste. However, environmental factors and production technologies —most noteworthy, mineral fertilization programs— significantly affect its organoleptic and nutritional quality. The objective of this research was to find an organic/inorganic fertilization formula that increases the organoleptic quality potential of Mexican strawberry cv. Zamorana. The hypothesis was that the organic or inorganic fertilization systems used in the plant do not affect the characteristics of the fruit quality. The fertilization treatments were: Chemical, Chemical-Organic 1°, Organic 1°, ChemicalOrganic 2°, Organic 2° , and Chemical-Mycorrhiza 3°; each treatment was applied in three plants in a completely randomized design with a 3?6 factorial arrangement. Fruits in ¾ red state were harvested from the three plants and in this fruits, the following characteristics were determined: N, P, K, and Ca content, fruit biomass, total soluble solids (SST), Titratable Acidity (AT) and vitamin C content; additionally, the SST/AT index was calculated. The results were analyzed with ANOVA and Tukey’s multiple comparison test (p?0.05), using SAS 9.4. Fruits with organic fertilization had higher N and P content; in addition, the SST and the SST/AT ratio were higher than in inorganic fertilization. Inorganic fertilization combined with mycorrhizae increased the K and Ca concentration and also affected the firmness of the fruits. The chemical and organic combination contributed to increase the size of the fruit; meanwhile, the AT and vitamin C content were not significantly different between treatments.