Assessing Productivity of Strawberry Varieties Under Mongolia’s Extreme Climate
摘要
The commercial production of remontant strawberry cultivars in plastic-covered greenhouses in Mongolia is gaining popularity. Remontant strawberry cultivars have many agronomic benefits over non-remontant cultivars. Their fruit set and fruit maturation occur 3–4 days earlier. Moreover, remontant cultivars have the potential to reach maximum production within the first year of planting. The objectives of the present study were to evaluate strawberry varieties based on fruiting period, yield, and biochemical characteristics; to investigate the effect of plant growth regulators on yield; and to examine the influence of sowing material on the quality of strawberry fruits. When compared to the control (‘Seolhyang’), the remontant varieties (‘Albion,’ ‘Sulhyang,’ and ‘Flamenco’ in particular) performed better, showing early leafing (3–4 days) and blooming (2–3 days). Yield studies demonstrated that remontant varieties performed much better than non-remontant types. ‘Albion’ produced the highest yield (1.64 kg/m2), while ‘Sulhyang’ produced the best yield per plant (280.0 g). Biochemical assessment highlighted ‘Aromas’ for its high ascorbic acid content (81 mg/100 g) and ‘Albion’ for the highest soluble solid content (10.6%). The variants treated with the growth regulator Zircon (0.9 µL/m2) demonstrated a significantly higher yield compared to the control variant. ‘Sulhyang’ showed the strongest response to growth regulators, which increased yields by up to 1.13 kg/m2, especially Zircon and heteroauxin. First-node daughter plants exhibited stronger growth and higher yields than subsequent nodes, emphasizing their importance for propagation. These results highlight the potential of remontant cultivars to enhance strawberry quality and productivity in Mongolia’s harsh climate when paired with growth regulators.