Influence of the Composition and Concentration of Fertilizer Solution on Growth and Nutrient Uptake of 'Maehyang' Strawberry during Vegetative Growth

We quantified the effects of the composition and concentration of fertilizer solutions on the growth and nutrient uptake of 'Maehyang' strawberry at the vegetative growth stage. Acid fertilizer (AF), neutral fertilizer (NF), and basic fertilizer (BF) with concentrations of 100 or 200 mg.L-1 based on N, were formulated and applied during the 100 days after transplanting, at which point crop growth and tissue nutrient contents were analyzed. The soil solutions were sampled every two weeks to. measure the pH, EC and nutrient concentrations. BF was a more effective fertilizer compared to AF and NF for growth of 'Maehyang' strawberry when fertilizer concentrations were controlled to 100 mg.L-1. By contrast, the fresh and dry weights were greatest in the NF treatment when fertilizer concentrations were controlled to 200 mg.L-1. The tissue contents of N, P; and Na were 2.20, 0.51 and 0.10%, reSpectively, in the NF 200 treatment, and these were the highest among all treatments tested. The highest contents of K, Ca and Mg were 2.60% in AF 200, 0.95% in BF 200 and 0.45% in BF 100, respectively. During the fertilization period, the highest and lowest pHs were 6.13 in BF 100 and 4.92 in AF 200. The lowest EC was 1.376 dS.m(-1) in BF 100 and the highest was 4.936 dS.m(-1) in NF 200 treatments. The highest NH4+ concentrations in the soil solution occurred during the AF 200 treatment, followed by those with NF 200 and AF 100. When fertilizer concentrations were equal, AF treatment gave rise to the highest Ca+2 and Mg+2 concentrations, followed by NF and BF, until day 84 of fertilization. The BF treatments had the highest NO3- concentrations followed by NF and AF. The trends for PO4-3 concentrations were similar in all fertilizer treatments when the fertilizer concentrations were equal. The above results indicate that neutral and basic fertilizers were most effective to promote 'Maehyang' strawberry growth when fertilizer solutions were controlled to low or high concentrations, respectively. These findings are useful for planning fertilization programs for vegetative propagation of 'Maehyang' strawberry.