• Journal of agriculture & life science
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• v.53 no.4
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• pp.19-28
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• 2019

This study was conducted to investigate the effect of nutrient solution strength and duration of nutrient starvation on the growth and development of strawberry (Fragaria x ananassa Duch.) 'Maehyang' and 'Sulhyang' at the flowering stage. Cuttings of runner plants were stuck on November 23th, 2017 and were covered with a layer of black plastic film to block light from penetrating and keep the relative humidity high. The black plastic film was removed after 16 days and rooted plants were cultivated for one month with irrigation of water. The Yamazaki nutrient solution with an electrical conductivity (EC) of 1.85 or 3.71 dS·m-1 (1x or 2x ionic strength, respectively) and pH 5.55 was fed to plants after either 0 (control), 1, 3 or 5 weeks of nutrient starvation to the end of experiment. Plant height in both cultivars decreased gradually with the increase in duration of nutritional starvation. The earlier the nutritional starvation started, the smaller the shoot fresh weight of 'Maehyang'. Hence the greatest shoot fresh weight was obtained in the control which was supplied with the nutrient solution continuously. Shoot fresh weight of 'Sulhyang' was the greatest in 1x ionic strength and one week of nutrient starvation before planting. Although number of flowers on the first flower cluster of 'Maehyang' and 'Sulhyang' showed no significant differences, 'Maehyang' had the greatest number of flowers in the 2x ionic strength solution and one week of nutrient starvation before planting, while 'Sulhyang' had that in the 1x ionic strength treatment. These results suggest that it is considered effective to supply a nutrient solution at a low concentration for a short period of time for increasing the number of flower differentiated on the first flower cluster in both cultivars.