Productive behavior of strawberry from potted seedlings produced with application of prohexadione calcium in soilless cultivation

Abstract

Use of national strawberry seedlings, produced in a system without soil, is an alternative to reduce the dependence of producers on using imported seedlings. The objective of this work was to evaluate the effect of applying different concentrations of prohexadione calcium (ProCa) in the growth control of strawberry seedlings and the productive behavior after planting these seedlings. The experiment was carried out in a greenhouse, with a 4 x 2 factorial scheme, four concentrations of prohexadione calcium (0, 150, 300 and 600 mg L^-1) and two cultivars (Aromas and Camarosa). In the seedling phase, a completely randomized design was used, with 4 replications, with the experimental unit consisting of 12 seedlings. In the post-planting phase, a completely randomized design was used, with 5 replications and the experimental unit consisted of 4 plants. In the seedlings, the following were evaluated: number of leaves, crown diameter, petiole length, leaf area, chlorophyll content and dry matter of the aerial part. The parameters evaluated in the strawberry plants were: full bloom and fruiting, number of fruits per plant, average fruit weight, total fruit weight, length and diameter of fruit, dry weight of leaves and crowns. The application of 150, 300 and 600 mg L^-1 of ProCa decreased the leaf area and petiole length for both cultivars, thus reduced the vegetative growth of the seedlings. On the other hand the chlorophyll a, b and total contents were increased in relation to the absence of ProCa for the two cultivars evaluated. The ProCa concentrations did not influence the number of fruits and the fruit mass per plant, and the results were related to the cultivar factor, where the cv Camarosa had the higher values.