THE EFFECT OF INCREASED CHLORIDE (Cl) CONTENT IN NUTRIENT SOLUTION ON YIELD AND QUALITY OF STRAWBERRY (Fragaria ananassa Duch.) FRUITS

Chloride and sodium are the main ions contributing to soil salinity in many regions but chloride is an essential element necessary for plant growth and development. It also controls the growth of some pathogens in plants. In this experiment, the effect of the chloride ion in nutrient solution on yield and fruit quality of two strawberry cultivars: ‘Selva’ and ‘Camarosa’ grown in hydroponic culture, was studied. Three kinds of nutrient solutions were used: 1) Hoagland-Arnon solution as control; 2) Hoagland-Arnon in which potassium nitrate was replaced with potassium chloride and ammonium nitrate was added as a nitrogen source and 3) the previous medium supplemented with 1.5 mmol l magnesium chloride. Plant growth, total fruit yield, fruit firmness and leaf chlorophyll content were higher in plants grown in the second solution than the others, but there was no significant difference between the three solutions in terms of single fruit weight, soluble solids content and fruit dry weight. However, using 1.5 mmol l magnesium chloride in a nutrient solution also increased the height of plants as well as total fruit production. The results showed that adding the chloride ion to the nutrient solution had no negative effects on fruit quality and leaf chlorophyll content.