Growth, yield and fruit quality of strawberry under protected cultivation in South Kashmir

Field experiments were conducted at Krishi Vigyan Kendra, Pulwama, Jammu and Kashmir at an altitude of 1601 m amsl to identify the suitable strawberry cultivars for higher production of good quality fruits. Eight strawberry cultivars were evaluated for two consecutive years (2008-09 and 2009-10) under polyhouse conditions. Maximum plant spread (27.43 cm) along with maximum number of runners (8.54) was produced by ‘Chandler’. ‘Tioga’ produced first flower in 97 days after planting, while runners of ‘Chandler’ (56.79) flowered for maximum number of days. ‘Chandler’ produced maximum number of flowers per plant (27.23) and set maximum berries (86.01%), however final yield of ber- ries was more in ‘Tioga’ which recorded maximum yield per plot (2.26 kg), closely followed by ‘Chandler’ (2.19 kg). Berry weight (12.24 g) and berry size (5.10 cm length and 4.73 cm) was maximum in ‘Tioga’. ‘Catskill’ registered maximum for all the biochemical characters, closely followed by ‘Tioga’. Overall, ‘Chandler’, ‘Catskill’ and ‘Tioga’ performed well under polyhouse conditions in Kashmir Valley