Background

Conventional strawberry production in Europe relies on chemical soil fumigation to mitigate the negative effects of soilborne pathogens prevalent in production areas such as Huelva (Spain). Considering the restrictions imposed by European policies on the use of chemicals, the adoption of alternative non-chemically disinfected cropping systems has become an efficient way.

Objective

To ascertain the effectiveness of non-chemically disinfected cropping systems compared to conventional system.

Methods

Yield and fruit quality of six strawberry cultivars were evaluated under two cropping systems: non-chemically disinfected cropping systems by solarization, organic and soilless compared with conventional system currently used in Huelva.

Results

The cultivation system and the cultivars influenced variations in yield (early and total fruit production and plant size) and fruit quality (firmness, soluble solids content and acidity) variables. All cultivars performed better in the conventional system. In biosolarized, organic and soilless systems, yield was lower than in conventional system. Biosolarization was the most suitable system for achieving acceptable yields and quality fruit for most strawberry cultivars which were used in this investigation.

Conclusions

The results showed that all the four cultivation systems still need be optimized and there is some room for further improvement; in this sense, the soilless system could be a promising alternative in the near future in Huelva. In general, ‘Rociera’ and ‘Primavera’ showed the highest average yield per plant, while ‘Calinda’ stood out for its organoleptic fruit quality, underscoring the importance of cultivar choice for achieving high production and quality.