COMPARISON OF COST AND PROFITABILITY OF ORGANIC AND CONVENTIONAL STRAWBERRY SEEDLING GROWING MEDIA

WOS: 000407960800014In this study, it was aimed to compare organic and conventional strawberry seedling cultivation media in terms of cost and profitability. This study was carried out in the Apricot Research Institute in Malatya province, Turkey. Albion and Sweet Charlie varieties were used in the experiment. The production costs of Albion and Sweet Charlie strawberry varieties were calculated in different growing media. Calculation of the production costs of the fresh plug strawberry seedlings was done in two steps. First, the production costs of strawberry runner plants were calculated, then the production costs of fresh plug strawberry seedlings were found. According to the results of the research, the cost of a runner plant was found to be the highest for the Albian Biodecal application, while the lowest was detected for Sweet Charlie Control application. According to different applications, the cost of strawberry branch plant was determined as 0.376, 0.341, 0.273, and 0.235 TL/unit for Albian Biodecal, Albian Control, Sweet Charlie Biodecal and Sweet Charlie Control applications, respectively(1 USD=3.02 TL in 2016, average). When the production costs of Albion and Sweet Charlie strawberry seedling obtained from Biodecal application were compared with the sale price, it can be said that production cost was lower than sale price for all the organic growing media (except for IT (Imported Turf) growing medium for Albion strawberry seedling obtained from Biodecal application), but in the conventional growing media, production costs was found to be higher than the sale price. Similar results have been found for the strawberry seedlings obtained from the control application. When organic applications were compared with each other, it was determined that KP (1:1 ratio local turf: perlite) was the growing medium which had the lowest production cost for Albion strawberry seedling obtained from Biodecal application, OE (1:1 ratio local turf: perlite + ecoflora providing 50 mg kg(-1) potassium) for Sweet Charlie strawberry seedling obtained from Biodecal application, KP for Albion strawberry seedling obtained from control application and OE for Sweet Charlie strawberry seedling obtained from control application

A Field Survey of Promising Mulberry (Morus spp.) Genotypes from Turkey

WOS: 000401553600003In this study the mulberry population in the Mediterranean and Eastern Anatolia Turkey was examined with regard to fruit properties. The research material consisted of uncultivated mulberry (Morus spp.) trees. Thirty five mulberry genotypes for table, 6 genotypes for fruit juice, 11 genotypes for syrup (pekmez) and 9 genotypes for drying, were selected, 32 of which belonged to Morus alba, 12 to Morus rubra and 8 genotypes to Morus nigra. Continued and more detailed selection studies with this population of genotypes are necessary to provide material that is suitable for future breeding efforts. It may also be possible to select some of this native material that has sufficient commercial value to justify its release to growers.Scientific and Technological Research Council of TurkeyTurkiye Bilimsel ve Teknolojik Arastirma Kurumu (TUBITAK) [TOAG-2600]This study was supported by a grant from The Scientific and Technological Research Council of Turkey (Project Number: TOAG-2600). The authors thank farmers and Agricultural Directorates in the research region

The effect of organic, inorganic fertilizers and their combinations on fruit quality parameters in strawberry

Strawberry (Fragaria × ananassa Duch.) is widely grown and highly appreciated by consumers around the world for its delicious, soft, and highly nutritious fruits. Turkey is one of the most important strawberry producers in the world. Strawberry cultivation in Turkey typically involves the use of chemical fertilizers and more recently organic and organic + chemical fertilizers have been started to use in commercial production to produce healthier fruits. Therefore, in this study, we investigated the effect of organic, chemical, and organic + chemical fertilizer treatments in strawberry (cvs. ‘Albion’, ‘San Andreas’ and ‘Monterey’) fruit quality parameters including fruit color (L*, a*, b*, C and h°) parameters, soluble solids content, total acidity, fruit firmness, vitamin C, specific sugars and organic acids. Results showed that in particular fruit color parameters, soluble solid content (SSC), total acidity, fruit firmness, and vitamin C (L-Ascorbic acid) in fruits of three strawberry cultivars were significantly affected by different fertilizer applications (p < 0.05). Compared with conventional chemical fertilizer treatment, the organic fertilizer treatment produced fruit with significantly higher contents of SSC and glucose but decreased fruit firmness and vitamin C. Organic fertilizer also gave more intense colored strawberry fruits with high Chroma values (47,948 in organic fertilizer application and 39,644 and 39,931 in organic + chemical fertilizer and chemical fertilizer, respectively). Citric acid was identified to be the predominant organic acid in strawberry fruits but treatments were found insignificant on citric acid content