ASHS 2025 Conference

Strawberry cultivation under a hydroponic system in a protected environment can be the key to enhancing off-season production in the U.S. Yet this type of cropping system remains a challenge. The aim of this study is to evaluate the performance of two day-neutral strawberry cultivars, ‘Albion’ and ‘San Andreas’, grown hydroponically in a greenhouse. Photosynthetic activity, growth and development, fruit yield, and quality have been evaluated for three seasons (2022-2025). The study is conducted at the Plant Science Research Center at Auburn, AL. Environmental conditions are recorded every 15 minutes. So far, the results presented the following: ‘Albion’ and ‘San Andreas’ have shown similarities in photosynthetic response with 15.00 µmol m-2s-1 for ‘Albion’ and 16.03 µmol m-2s-1 for ‘San Andreas’. Growth and development showed that plant height did not differ which is 22.2 cm and 23.9 cm ‘Albion’ and ‘San Andreas’, respectively. Leaf area (cm2) for ‘San Andreas’ is higher, 1679.11, than ‘Albion’, 1091.6. Leaves and stem dry weights (g plant-1) is higher for ‘San Andreas’, 12.89 and 6.63 than for ‘Albion’, 8.77 and 4.25, respectively. Flower and fruit dry weights did not differ for both cultivars. ‘San Andreas’ has a significantly higher yield (g plant-1), 21.80 than ‘Albion’, 17.30. Fruit quality varied between cultivars. ‘Albion’ has a higher brix with 9.15 than ‘San Andreas’ with only 7.85, while ‘San Andreas’ is firmer, 1.13 kg cm-1, than ‘Albion’, 1.03 kg cm-1. ‘San Andreas’ has larger fruits than ‘Albion’, 16.63 cm2 and 14.82 cm2, respectively. Thus, it is feasible to produce strawberries under hydroponic systems in a greenhouse.