Influence of High Tunnel Conditions and Cultivars on the Growth, Yield, and Fruit Quality of Strawberry in Northern Türkiye

Abstract

This study was carried out in Samsun, in the northern part of Turkiye. Short-day cultivars Amiga, Fortuna, Rubygem, Festival, and Camarosa and day-neutral cultivars Albion, Monterey, Sweet Ann, and San Andreas were evaluated for harvest period, fruit yield and quality, and vegetative growth under open field and high tunnel conditions. Fortuna, Festival, and Rubygem were the earliest cultivars and Sweet Ann the latest cultivar under both conditions. Harvest started about 1 month earlier under high tunnel conditions due to the higher air and soil temperatures than the open field. The harvest period lasted 16 to 21 weeks in the open field and 20 to 22 weeks in the high tunnel. In the open field, the harvest period lasted about 16 to 18 weeks for short-day cultivars and 16 to 21 weeks for day-neutral cultivars. Thus, the cool summers of northern Turkiye led to a long harvest season not only for day-neutral cultivars but also short-day cultivars. The high tunnel did not affect yield-related parameters. Monterey, Albion, and Fortuna showed the best performances in terms of total, marketable, and percent marketable yield. Despite the high total and marketable yield, the marketability levels of Sweet Ann and Rubygem were lower than those of the other cultivars. Production system x cultivar interactions showed that cultivar selection was important in both production areas. In the open field the Monterey, Sweet Ann, and Albion and in the high tunnel the Fortuna, Rubygem, Festival, Amiga, and Monterey cultivars performed best in terms of yield. Production system, cultivar, and production system x cultivar interactions affected fruit quality and growth. High tunnel conditions generally affected fruit quality positively. Numbers of crowns and runners and plant biomass in strawberry plants grown in the open field were significantly higher than those of plants grown in the high tunnel. Thus, open field conditions were more conducive for plant growth. Day-neutral cultivars are characterized by high productivity and long harvest seasons in the northern areas of Turkiye.