Fruit yield and quality of strawberry plants cultivated in substrate with arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi, Ascophyllum nodosum, and Trichoderma harzianum

Abstract

The objective of this work was to evaluate the effect of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF), the Ascophyllum nodosum seaweed extract, the Trichoderma harzianum fungus, and their combinations on the horticultural potential of strawberry plants grown in substrate in a greenhouse. Eight treatments were studied: the absence and presence of bioinputs, represented by AMF, A. nodosum (AN), T. harzianum (TH), AMF+AN, AMF+TH, AN+TH, and AMF+AN+TH, arranged in a randomized complete block design, with four replicates. Fruit yield and quality were evaluated. The use of bioinputs did not change fruit yield, but prolonged the end of the production cycle. Treatments TH and AMF improve fruit quality regarding total anthocyanin and flavonoid contents. The use of bioinputs improves fruit quality of strawberry plants, but has no effect on fruit yield.