Tipburn Incidence in Strawberry Leaves in Relation to Calcium Concentration

Abstract

The causes of tipburn were studied on the leaves of the two strawberry cultivars 'Seolhyang' and 'Red pearl' that were grown either in soilless culture medium or in soil during 2010-2012. The Ca, Mg and K content in leaves, petiole and guttated fluids were analyzed and induction of tipburn in detached leaves was determined. During the 3-year observation, there were hardly any tipburn affected plants when grown in soil, whereas plants grown in soilless culture medium showed different sensitivity depending on the year. Analysis of discrete area of leaves, petiole sap and guttated fluid indicated the importance of Ca nutrition, although the absolute concentration of Ca may not be a crucial factor in tipburn induction. Use of detached leaves confirmed that Ca uptake and transport by positive xylem pressure are deciding factors for the occurrence of tipburn.