EFFECT OF POTASSIUM NITRATE ON BREAKING BUD DORMANCY IN STRAWBERRY (FRAGARIA ANANASSA DUCH.) PLANTS

Abstract

Strawberry (Fragaria ananassa Duch.) plants cv. ‘Selva’ were grown in soilless culture under greenhouse conditions to investigate the effectiveness of potassium nitrate (KNO₃) alone or accompanied with chilling treatments on vegetative growth of plants. Treatments included: 1) control plants, which did not receive treatment with any material (C2, C3, and C4) and/or chilling (C1): [C]; 2) plants, treated only with 1.5% KNO₃ (A1) or accompanied with chilling (A2, A3, and A4): [A] and 3) plants treated with 3% KNO₃ (B1) or accompanied with chilling (B2, B3, and B4): [B]. These treatments were applied continuously for four weeks. In each week, chilling hours increased. The highest and lowest leaf area resulted from the A1 and A4 treatments, respectively. The highest and lowest chlorophyll content were obtained by the C3 and C1 treatments, respectively. The highest and lowest petiole lengths resulted from the B4 and A2 treatments, respectively. The highest and lowest pedicel lengths were obtained with the B1 and C3 plants, respectively. These results showed that KNO₃ influences the growth rate of strawberry plants.

Keywords:

• bud dormancy
• potassium
• spray of nutrient
• vegetative growth

Notes

^AA1, B1, and C1: first week treatments; A2, B2, and C2: second week treatments; A3, B3, and C3: third week treatments; A4, B4, and C4: fourth week treatments.

^BChlorophyll contents are expressed as mg g⁻¹ leaf fresh weight.