Flowering and fruiting responses of strawberry to growth hormone and chilling grown under tunnel conditions

Abstract

Strawberry (Fragaria ananasa) is a berry fruit belonging to the family Rosaceae and requires certain amount of cold temperature to initiate flowering. Present study was conducted with the objective to study flowering and fruiting responses of strawberry to growth hormone and chilling under tunnel conditions. The study comprised of six different treatments as; control, GA3 (gibberellic acid) 200 ppm, GA3 400 ppm, chilling at 4°C, chilling at 4°C + GA3 200 ppm and chilling at 4°C + GA3 400 ppm. Treatments were applied at vegetative stage before flowering. It was inferred from the study that strawberry plants responded much better to application of GA3 at 400 ppm for their growth, flower stimulation, their number, quality features while chilling at 4°C proved better for maximum fruit production and better quality under tunnel condition.