Nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P), potassium (K), and water are four crucial factors that have significant effects on strawberry yield and fruit quality. We used a 11 that involved 36 treatments with five levels of each of the four variables (N, P, and K fertilizers and water) to optimize fertilization and water combination for high yield and quality. Moreover, we used the SSC/TA ratio (the ratio of soluble solid content to titratable acid) as index of quality. Results showed that N fertilizer was the most important factor, followed by water and P fertilizer, and the N fertilizer had significant effect on yield and SSC/TA ratio. By contrast, the K fertilizer had significant effect only on yield. N×K fertilizer interacted significantly on yield, whereas the other interactions among the four factors had no significant effects on yield or SSC/TA ratio. The effects of the four factors on yield and SSC/TA ratio were ranked as N fertilizer > water > K fertilizer > P fertilizer and N fertilizer > P fertilizer > water > K fertilizer, respectively. The yield and SSC/TA ratio increased when NPK fertilizer and water increased, but then decreased when excessive NPK fertilizer and water were applied. The optimal fertilizer and water combination were 22.28-24.61 g plant -1 Ca (NO 3 ) 2 �4H 2 O, 1.75-2.03 g plant -1 NaH 2 PO 4 , 12.41-13.91 g plant -1 K 2 SO 4 , and 12.00-13.05 L water plant -1 for yields of more than 110 g plant -1 and optimal SSC/TA ratio of 8.5-14.
OPEN ACCESSCitation: Wu Y, Li L, Li M, Zhang M, Sun H, Sigrimis N (2020) Optimal fertigation for high yield and fruit quality of greenhouse strawberry. PLoS ONE 15(4): e0224588. https://doi.org/10.