Yield in Mycorrhizal Strawberry Plants by Elevated Bench Culture Using Fabric Pots

Abstract

The yield in strawberry (Fragaria × ananassa Duch., ‘Nohime’) plants inoculated with arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (Gigaspora margarita, Glomus mosseae, Gl. aggregatum) were investigated by elevated bench culture using fabric pots. Mycorrhizal plants accumulated more dry weight in the shoots and roots than non-mycorrhizal plants 10 weeks after inoculation; there were no differences by fungal species. The level of mycorrhizal colonization in roots differed with the fungal species; Glomus mosseae showed the highest level. As for fluctuations in yield, mycorrhizal plants produced more large fruit (3L, 2L) in apical and axillary fruit bunches than non-mycorrhizal plants. Total yield was greater in mycorrhizal plants than in non-mycorrhizal plants, regardless of the fungal species; this increase was mainly the result of large fruits from mycorrhizal plants. These findings suggest that mycorrhizal strawberry plants showed higher potential yield in elevated bench culture using fabric pots.