Evaluation of Strawberry Fruit Quality (Fragaria × ananassa Duch.) and Its Response to Nutrient Solutions

Resumen

Objective: To evaluate the effect of different nutrient solutions on the fruit quality of artificially pollinated strawberries grown under shade-house conditions in the Guasave Valley, Sinaloa. Design/methodology/approach: A Randomized Complete Block Design (RCBD) was established with four treatments and six replicates. The evaluated treatments were as follows: T1 = Nutrient Solution 1 (NS1) = Steiner solution; T2 = Nutrient Solution 2 (NS2) = commercial solution Vidamin-NPK 20-30-10 COMPO EXPERT®; T3 = Nutrient Solution 3 (NS3) = commercial solution Foliamin K 15-5-30 COMPO EXPERT®; and T4 = Nutrient Solution 4 (NS4) = tap water without additional nutrients. Fruit physical characteristics (weight and equatorial diameter) and physicochemical characteristics (°Brix, pH, and internal and external color) were evaluated as response variables. Results: A significant difference (p≤0.05) was observed for the physical variables, with fruits treated with NS2 and NS3 exhibiting the greatest weight (39.8 g and 36.1 g, respectively). Regarding the physicochemical characteristics, both pH and color (L, a*, C*, and H*) showed significant differences (p≤0.05). Fruits grown with NS2 exhibited a lower pH (3.3) than those under the other treatments, whose pH ranged from 3.53 to 3.6. Findings/conclusions: Concerning internal and external color, fruits fertilized with NS1 and NS2 showed greater red color saturation (a*). Overall, the results were favorable in terms of fruit quality. A limitation of this study is that it was conducted under specific shade-house conditions in a single region; nevertheless, nutrient solutions appear to constitute a viable alternative for improving strawberry fruit quality