GA₃ INFLUENCES INCIDENCE OF FRUIT MALFORMATION, BERRY YIELD AND FRUIT QUALITY IN STRAWBERRY (FRAGARIA × ANANASSA DUCH.)

Gibberellic acid influences vegetative and reproductive attributes and various disorders in many fruit crops. In India, strawberry is gaining popularity day-by-day but productivity and quality remain a major concern. Hence, studies were conducted with the aim to observe the effect of GA₃ on strawberry. GA₃ (75 ppm) was applied to the plants either during mid-November (at fruit bud differentiation), or mid-February (initiation of flowering) or at both times. In all, following treatment combinations were tried: (1) Water spray only, (2) GA₃ (75 ppm) during November, (3) GA₃ (75 ppm) during February, (4) GA₃ (75 ppm) both during November and February. Fruits under control were sprayed with tap water only. Observations were recorded on various vegetative and reproductive parameters and on the incidence of fruit malformation, albinism and quality parameters, like juice content, TSS, acidity, etc. Results indicated that GA₃ (75 ppm) spray either during November or February or both has increased the leaf petiole, leaf area and leaf number significantly. Fruit size decreased, and fruit number increased but there was no remarkable effect on fruit quality parameters. The incidence of fruit malformation was reduced significantly in all the treatments, but albinism remained unaffected. In all, spraying GA₃ both during mid-November and mid-February was much more effective in achieving the desirable results than single application of GA₃.