Response of Organic and Inorganic Sources of Nutrients on growth, flowering and yield of strawberry Fragaria x ananassa Duch cv. Winter Dawn

Abstract

The present study was carried out during 2024–25 at the Horticultural Research Farm of the Narayan Institute of Agricultural Sciences (NIAS) to assess the influence of organic and inorganic nutrient sources on growth, flowering and yield of strawberry. The experiment was laid out in a randomized block design comprising ten treatments with three replications. Treatments included control, 100% recommended NPK, farmyard manure (FYM @ 20 t ha⁻¹), vermicompost (10 t ha⁻¹) and their combinations with different levels of NPK. Results indicated that the integrated application of vermicompost (10 t ha⁻¹) + 100% NPK significantly improved vegetative growth parameters such as plant height, plant spread, number of leaves and leaf area, along with earliness of flowering, number of flowers per plant, fruit set per plant and duration of harvesting over other treatments. The same treatment also produced superior fruit characteristics, including maximum fruit length, width, volume, weight, number of fruits per plant and overall yield, followed by FYM (20 t ha⁻¹) + 100% NPK. In contrast, the lowest values for all growth, flowering and yield attributes were recorded under the control treatment. The findings clearly demonstrate that integrated use of organic manures, particularly vermicompost, in combination with recommended doses of inorganic fertilizers is an effective strategy for enhancing productivity of strawberry.