Effect of Mulching on Growth, Yield and Quality Attributes of (Fragaria x ananassa) in Dehradun Valley of Uttarakhand

Abstract

The Present experimental research was conducted during the year 2020-21 at Horticulture Research block, School of Agriculture Sciences, SGRR University, Dehradun, Uttarakhand to study the “Effect of Mulching on Growth, Yield and Quality Attributes of Strawberry (Fragaria X ananassa) in Dehradun Valley of Uttarakhand”. The field experiment was laid out in randomized block design with three replications and three treatments. The treatments were comprised with different mulching materials viz. control as without mulching (T1), straw mulching (T2) and Polythene mulching (T3). The planting of cultivar “Chandler” was done on first week of November, 2020 and observations were recorded at 30 DAT, 60 DAT, 90 DAT, 120 DAT, and 150 DAT and at final harvest. Significant results were obtained for different attributes of growth, yield, and quality as well as in terms of economics under the treatment of black polythene mulching (T3). The results showed that the Number of Flowers per Plant (24.08),  Plant spread (48.06 cm), Fruit length (4.22 cm), Fruit diameter (3.80 cm), Fruit texture (5.9 lb), T.S.S. (8.92 0Brix) and Total juice content (84.05 %) However, the control (T1) reported maximum Titrable acidity (0.92 %).