Evaluating the Efficacy of Different Bioinoculants and Bioenhancers on the Vegetative Growth and Yield of Strawberry (Fragaria x ananassa) cv. Winter Dawn

Abstract

The strawberry (Fragaria x ananassa) cv. Winter dawn is a significant fruit within the Fragaria genus and is classified under the Rosaceae family. There is a growing trend in adopting strawberry cultivation even in subtropical conditions. However, there is still a need to promote the standardization of agricultural techniques for strawberry cultivation in subtropical regions to increase production while maintaining quality. This study was conducted to evaluate the efficacy of different bioinoculants and bioenhancers on the vegetative growth and yield of Strawberry (Fragaria x ananassa) cv. Winter dawn transplanted during the winter season of 2022-23 at the Horticulture Research Farm, Department of Horticulture, Naini Agricultural Institute, Sam Higginbottom University of Agriculture, Technology & Sciences, Prayagraj. The experiment comprised of nine treatments viz. T0- CONTROL (RDF), T1- Azotobacter @400g/100m², T2- PSB @400g/100m², T3- Jeevamrit (3 times diluted with non- chlorinated water) @250ml/l, T4- Amritpani (3 times diluted with non-chlorinated water) @250ml/l, T5- Azotobacter @400g/100m² + Jeevamrit (3 times diluted with non-chlorinated water) @250ml/l, T6- PSB @400g/100m² + Amritpani (3 times diluted with non-chlorinated water) @250ml/l, T7- Jeevamrit (3 times diluted with non-chlorinated water) @250ml/l+ Amritpani (3 times diluted with non- chlorinated water) @250ml/l + Azotobacter @ 400g/100m², T8- Jeevamrit (3 times diluted with non- chlorinated water) @250ml/l + Amritpani (3 times diluted with non-chlorinated water) @250ml/l + PSB @400g/100m². The experiment was laid out in Randomized Block Design. The results revealed that the treatment T7 (Jeevamrit (3 times diluted with non-chlorinated water) @250ml/l + Amritpani (3 times diluted with non-chlorinated water) @250ml/l + Azotobacter @ 400g/100m²) was found to be best in terms of Vegetative growth viz., Plant height (25.67cm), Plant spread (27.00cm (E-W), 27.00cm (N-S)), Petiole length (12.00cm), No. of leaves per plant (22.00), Chlorophyll content (60.69), Days to first flowering (40.67), No. of fruits (16.00), No. of flowers (19.00), Fruit set (84.18%), and Fruit yield (2.13Kg) of strawberries.