FIELD EVALUATION OF NEWLY IMPORTED STRAWBERRY CULTIVARS PROPAGATED BY MERISTEM CULTURE IN COMPARISON WITH THEIR CONVENTIONALLY RUNNER PROPAGATED PLANTS

Five newly imported strawberry cultivars including ‘Karsynberg’, ‘Classica’, ‘Selva’, ‘Diamente’ and ‘Merak’ were first propagated by meristem culture and then their performances were evaluated under field conditions and compared with plants of the same cultivars propagated conventionally by runners. The best culture medium for meristem culture of these cultivars was found to be 1/2 MS supplemented with 0.2 mg/L BAP and the greatest shoot proliferation was achieved in MS medium (full strength) containing 0.5 mg/L BAP. Shoots were best rooted in MS medium without growth regulators. Different parameters of growth and development including number of crowns per plant, number of runners on each plant, flowering date and fruit yield were recorded during growing season and statistically analyzed. The results revealed that there were no significant differences among cultivars regarding their in vitro establishment and initial shoot proliferation. Cultivars ‘Merak’, ‘Selva’ and ‘Diamante’ responded much better than ‘Karsynberg’ and ‘Classica’. Considerable differences were also observed among cultivars in the field regardless of their propagation methods. Plants propagated by meristem culture were established and grew very well in the field and always performed better than conventionally runner-propagated plants, particularly for number of crowns per plant, number of runners produced on each plant, flowering date and fruit yield.