Influence of substrate on strawberry plug plant production

[EN] The plug plant technique for the commercial propagation of strawberries is increasing in importance. Several factors, including the properties of the substrate, can affect plug plant quality. Tests on nine substrates containing different proportions of perlite [from 0 ¿ 75%, (v/v)], and dark and light peat [both from 0 ¿ 80% (v/v)], were performed using a simplex-lattice design in order to establish a model for strawberry plug plant production based not only on the single component composition of the substrate, but also on the influences of the chemical and physical properties of the substrate on plug plant quality. Notable differences in physical and chemical properties were found among the nine different substrates tested, as a consequence of the broad range of their component compositions. Substrate mixes containing medium-to-high proportions [from 60 ¿ 70% (v/v)] of light peat and low proportions of dark peat and perlite are recommended, as these resulted in a low nutrient content, a high organic matter content, a low pH, and a low ¿coarseness¿ index, which led to high-grade plug plants with greater root and crown dry weights.Funding was provided by the Spanish Ministry for Science and Technology-FEDER through Research Project No. AGL2004-04365/AGR. The authors are grateful to Dr. J.L. Guardiola and Dr. Manual Abad for comments on this manuscript. The authors are also grateful to Ms. Debra Westall for revising the grammar of the manuscript.López Galarza, SV.; San Bautista Primo, A.; Pascual España, B.; Maroto Borrego, JV. (2010). Influence of substrate on strawberry plug plant production. Journal of Horticultural Science. 85(5):415-420. doi:10.1080/14620316.2010.11512690S41542085