In hydroponic systems, if fertigation is not managed properly, quantitative and qualitative properties of the plant will be affected. In order to investigate post-harvest quality of strawberry fruit in response to the frequency of fertigation and foliar application with potassium sulfate, an experiment was performed with two factors including the number of times per day at three levels (once, four and ten times) and foliar application at three levels (control, 1 and 2 g L-1) in a completely randomized design with three replications at Vali-e-Asr University in Rafsanjan. The results showed that the amount of soluble solids of the fruit and pH of the fruit juice increased during storage. The total acid, vitamin C, firmness, phenolic compounds and anthocyanin of the fruit reduced during storage. At the end of storage period, the highest amount of soluble solids, total acid, antioxidant capacity and total phenol of the fruit was observed in once fertigation treatment and with increasing fertigation times up to four times a day, the amount of vitamin C, firmness and anthocyanin of the fruit increased. The fruit color and sepal hue indicators reduced and sepal L*and chroma increased. Both potassium sulfate treatments resulted in better shelf life of strawberry fruit than the control.
malekzadeh shamsabad M R, esmaeilizadeh M, roosta H R, nazoori F. Effect of Frequency of Fertigation and Foliar Application of Potassium Sulfate on Postharvest Quality of Strawberry Fruit in Hydroponic Culture. IJHST 2020; 21 (1) :85-98 URL: http://journal-irshs.ir/article-1-359-en.html