Effect of some growth stimulants on production and quality of strawberry transplants

This study was undertaken during the two successive seasons of 2013 and 2014 under sandy soil conditions at private Sector Farm at Kafr Elsohbi Village, Shibin Elqantar, Qalubia Governorate Egypt, to study the effect of using some growth stimulants treatments, i.e., humic acid at 5g/plant, seaweed extract at 5ml/plant, compost tea at10ml/plant and effective microorganisms (EM) at 5ml/plant through soil application and amino acids at 2ml/l, seaweed extract at 2ml/l and gibberellic acid at 50 ppm as a foliar spray and their interactions on growth, chemical compostion, production and quality of strawberry transplants cv. Festival. The obtained results showed that the highest number of main runners/plant, number of leaves/transplant, the thickest transplant crown and the highest number of roots as well as the tallest roots/transplant were recorded by seaweed extract as a soil addition combined with seaweed extracts foliar spray treatment. In addition, the same treatment of seaweed extract either as a soil and foliar spray application induced the maximum number of produced transplants per plant and fedden during both seasons of study. Moreover, the combined treatment between soil addition of seaweed extract and folier spray exhibited the highest content of carbohydrates, phosphorus and potassium in tissues of produced transplants, whereas the highest total nitrogen content was recorded by soil addition of seaweed extract treatment combined with spraying transplants with amino acids in the two seasons. However, the tallest transplants were scored by combination treatment of seaweed extract added to the soil and GA₃ folior spray. Furthermore, the lowest percentage of transplants infection was gained as a result of the combination treatment of EM soil addition and seaweed foliar spray.