Phyllochron and Productive Performance of Strawberry Cultivars: Impact of Different Regions of Origin in a Conventional Cultivation System

The seedlings selection and the strawberry cultivars choice are fundamental to the productive success of a cultivation. Thus, the objective of this work was to evaluate the production of two strawberry cultivars with seedlings from different origins, in a conventional cultivation system under the low tunnel. The experiment was conducted in a randomized complete block design, in a 2 × 3 factorial scheme, two cultivars (Albion and San Andreas) and three different nurseries (Low altitude region/BR, High altitude region/BR and seedlings imported from the of Patagonia Region/AR) totaling six treatments, with four replicates and eight plants per plot. Phyllochron, number and production of commercials and non commercial fruits were determined. To the qualitative analysis, the acidity, total soluble solids and the relation total soluble solids/titratable acidity were determined. It was possible to observe that the Albion cultivar from all sources and the San Andreas of high altitude/BR presented the highest phyllochron values. The production of commercial fruits was higher for the Albion cultivar from high altitude/BR and Patagonia/AR, and to San Andreas cultivar of low altitude/BR. It was concluded that the phyllochron varies according to the cultivar and place of origin of the seedlings, being San Andreas cultivar of the low altitude/BR the one that requires less amounts of degree-days to emit a leaf. The Albion (high altitude/BR) cultivar has higher phyllochron, high productive potential and less production of non-commercial fruits, and can be used as a substitute for imported seedlings (Patagonia/AR), which will reflect in the costs reduction to the implantation of strawberry crops.