Effects of a combined hydroponic system in growing strawberry plantlets

The strawberry nursery, created annually in a stationary greenhouse, can be a successful alternative to the regular growing of large quantities of in vitro virus-free material for production needs. The use of strawberry microplants as initial ones in such a nursery provides a significant acceleration of the beginning of receiving daughter plants and ensuring its high productivity. The basis for the implementation of this technology is a combined hydroponic system, which additionally allows to successfully prevent the emergence and spread of pests and diseases of strawberries. The experiment was conducted from February 1 to September 30, 2019 to assess the vegetative productivity of test-tube microplants. The growth and development of plants of four Fragaria × ananassa genotypes were studied. For planting, special-design container-blocks filled with peat were used, which were placed in a greenhouse on a specially equipped surface from technological tables where trays were installed with periodically circulating water. Based on the placement conditions, each block with 5 plants together with the root formation zone occupied 0.24 m2 of the greenhouse area. The trays were pre-coated with a thin water- and breathable synthetic Spunbond nonwoven material (density 17 g m-2), which prevented the runners from immersing in water. The forming runners freely grew from the mother plants, and plantlets, in contact with a damp surface, actively rooted. Runners with plantlets were cut off from the mother plants, while extracting the roots that penetrated through the synthetic material and, not dividing into parts, were planted on cassettes with peat. Under fine irrigation, one week was enough for 100% survival of plants. Based on 1 m2 of nursery area for 1 year of using, an average of 324.7 to 539.2 daughter plants was obtained for cultivars. © 2021 International Society for Horticultural Science. All rights reserved.