Influence of planting time and mulching material on growth and fruit yield of strawberry cv. Chandler

An experiment was conducted for standardization of planting time and mulching material in strawberry cv. Chandler with the aim to maximise growth and yield under sub-tropical conditions. The experiment was laid out in a randomized block design (Factorial) with five levels of planting time starting from 25(th) September at weekly interval upto 25(th) October, 2007 and three levels of mulching. Plant height (20.16 cm), plant spread (28.13 cm), leaf area (64.19 cm(2)), average fruit weight (14.32 g), fruit yield (286.02 g/plant) and runners per plant (3.65) were significantly higher in 9(th) October planting than plants planted on other dates. Similarly, plant height (20.86 cm), plant spread (30.00 cm), leaf area (64.76 cm(2)), fruit weight (14.69 g) and fruit yield (295.78 g/plant) were significantly higher in plants mulched with black polyethylene than those either mulched with transparent polyethylene or paddy straw. The interaction effect of planting time and mulching material was found significant only in case of number of crowns per plant (0.37), fruit yield (27.33) and number of runners per plant (0.15). Thus, the study indicated that 9(th) October planting coupled with black polyethylene mulching is most favourable for successful cultivation of strawberry under sub-tropical conditions of Jammu.