Effect of media and variety on the performance of Strawberry

Author

Nyamundasoka, Prisca R.

Title

Effect of media and variety on the performance of Strawberry

Abstract

This study investigated the effect of different growth media and strawberry varieties on the plant’s vegetative growth, fruit quality, yield and disease incidence. The experiment followed a factorial arrangement within a randomized complete block design complete (RCBD) with two varieties monterey and cabrillo were grown in three different media sandy loam, pine bark and clay loam. The results showed that the growing media significantly affect plant growth, fruit quality, yield and disease prevalence (p< 0,05). Significant interactions between media and variety were observed. The clay loam and pine bark resulted in the highest yield and fruit quality while sandy loam performed poorly. The study showed that pine bark is most effective media for promoting vegetative growth and its importance as a substrate in disease management. The study highlights recommendations to farmers that sandy loam should be supplemented with organic matter as it showed lower performance in all parameters. In between the strawberry varieties monterey is recommended to farmers as it outperformed the cabrillo variety in most parameters including leaf number, yield and fruit weight. These results provide valuable insights for farmers and agricultural practitioners ways to enhance strawberry production through optimal medium variety pairing. Recommendation to farmers to use pine bark can serve as a preventative measure against soil-borne diseases due to its better drainage and aeration. This can reduce dependence on chemical fungicides promoting more sustainable farming.

Date

September 2025

Publisher

BUSE

Keywords

Strawberry

Growth media

Monterey and Cabrillo

Supervisor

Mr. Mutsengi