Performance of four strawberry cultivars in two ecoclimatic regions of Rio Grande do Sul State, Brazil

The choice of cultivars has important significance in achieving success in strawberries cultivation. However, the experiments with cultivars are usually carried out in conventional systems of production and not in soilless growing systems. Due to this, the present research intended to assess the performance of some strawberry cultivars in soilless growing system, inside the greenhouse, in two regions with different ecoclimatic conditions, in Eldorado do Sul (Depressao Central) and Caxias do Sul (Serra do Nordeste), in Rio Grande do Sul State. Four strawberry cultivars were tested: Aromas, Camarosa, Oso Grande and Tudla. The planting was in May 2005, and the seedlings were placed in bags containing substrate composed of 50% of peat and 50% charred rice hulls. The fertilizer was supplied by fertirrigation. Fruits were harvested when 70% of them presented red color up to fully mature. The results showed that the cultivation of strawberries in this system led to lower yield per plant than in a traditional system, but provides better use of internal greenhouse, with positive consequences in yield per area, due to the high density of plants and the facility to manage the crop. The highest productivity was obtained in Caxias do Sul (235.8 g plant(-1)) compared to Eldorado do Sul (196.4 g plant(-1)) without interaction between locations and cultivars. In Caxias do Sul, the cultivars Aromas, Oso Grande and Camarosa presented highest yield when compared to Tudla, but there was no difference in Eldorado do Sul.