Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
considerably increased. Various species of bacteria like
Pseudomonas, Azospirillum,
Azotobacter, Klebsiella, Enterobacter, Alcaligenes
and
Bacillus
have been reported to
enhance plant growth (López-Valdez et al., 2011; Luković et al., 2012; Pešaković et al.,
2013).
Taking into account the significant increase in consumer interest in strawberry products,
there is a need to determine sustainable agricultural practices that should be performed in fruit
plantings. Cultivated strawberry (
Fragaria
×
ananassa
Duch.) is a highly valued fruit crop,
giving the quickest return in shortest time and receiving a lot of attention in relation to yield
and fruit quality (Milivojević et al., 2012a; Pešaković et al., 2013). The permanent trend of
increased strawberry consumption, both as fresh and processed fruits, indicates possibilities
for expanding the production. To achieve this goal, it is of vital importance to select cultivars,
which are both high-yielding and produce consistently flavorful fruits, thus making them
more desirable to consumers (Nikolić et al., 2009; Paydas Kargi et al., 2012). In this regard,
the breeding programs of strawberry fruit have aimed to improve yield and fruit quality
characteristics (sensorial and nutritional), the adaptation to different growing systems and
recently, research has been focused on developing ecologically cultivated strawberries
(Capocasa et al., 2008; Magnani et al., 2009; Luković et al., 2012; Pešaković et al., 2013).
Keeping the focus on the three postulates: quality, economic sustainability and attention to the
environment, the breeding programs were improved in efficiency and achieved certain results
that are currently very profitable and have also opened the door for important future
developments. Consequently, permanent introduction of new strawberry selections and their
testing in different environments, with various cultivation techniques and nutrition protocols
plays an essential role in obtaining viable information on what cultivars perform well and
possess more beneficial traits in certain conditions (Tulipani et al., 2008; Kiprijanovski et al.,
2012). In addition to assortment innovation, growing techniques and applied agricultural
practices are also important factors in determining yield and fruit nutritional quality
(Milivojević et al., 2009).
Many greenhouse and container-production operations can be classified as intensive
agriculture because they use different substrates, combination of fertilizers, irrigation
methods, insecticides, and fungicides to achieve high-volume production on small acreages
(Lea-Cox et al., 2001). Gao et al. (2002) emphasize general advantages of hydroponics
growing systems that are also capable of controlling water and nutrient management as well
as microclimate conditions inside the greenhouse. It is especially important to note that a
specification of agricultural practices should be ideally adjusted to the needs of a single
cultivar or a group of cultivars with similar requirements.
Intensive farming practices that warrant high yields and fruit quality often require
extensive use of chemical fertilizers, which are costly and create environmental problems.
McArthur and Eaton (1988) reported that high rates of NPK fertilizers increased the numbers
of leaves and runners of strawberry, delayed fruit ripening and enhanced the number of
achenes per fruit.
Variation in strawberry yields associated with application of different chemical fertilizers
may be explained by their physiological functions, rates and time of application, production
system, cultivar specificities, weather conditions and cultural practices (Tagliavini et al.,
2005; Hargreaves et al., 2008; Parmar and Sindhu, 2013). An excessive fertilization of
strawberry plants with nitrogen (N) in autumn significantly increased biomass, but did not
affect either fruit yields or quality (Tagliavini et al., 2005). But in spring time, strawberry
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