EFFECTS OF SUBSTRATE CULTURE ON STRAWBERRY GROWTH AND DEVELOPMENT IN GREENHOUSE

The replanting obstacle was one of the main problems in strawberry green-house cultivation. Substrate culture was an effective measure to resolve this problem. This research was carried out to evaluate the effects of substrate culture (SC) applied organic fertilizer in greenhouse on strawberry growth and development. Vegetative growth, phenophase and root zone temperatures of ‘Sweet Charlie’ cultivar under these cultivation conditions were investigated and compared with those of soil cultured plants (CK). It was showed that growth vigor of SC was a little weaker than CK. Bud-appearing phase, full flowering phase, initial maturation phase of SC were 1 day later than CK, but maturation phase was almost the same. Diurnal changing trends of root zone temperatures and the temperatures of 10 cm and 15 cm under the ground of SC were similar to those of CK, while the temperatures of 5 cm and 20 cm were different. The relationship between plant growth and root zone temperatures was also discussed.