COMPARISION BETWEEN HYDROPONIC AND SOIL SYSTEMS FOR GROWING STRAWBERRIES IN A GREENHOUSE

Abstract

Consumption of strawberries has been asserted to have many health promoting bioactive compounds including antioxidants.  Growing fruits and vegetables hydroponically represent a possible opportunity towards sustainable crop production; it would be beneficial to examine the feasibility and the potential ability to replace soil systems for growing strawberries.  Unlike leafy greens, the root structures, stalk, and fruit are more complex and require more physical support. In this study, hydroponic strawberries were higher in terms of fruit yield and plant survival rate. In soil-grown strawberries, the overall mass was significantly higher by 23%, but there was a larger variation of fruit size indicated by a large standard deviation. Startup costs for growing strawberries in hydroponic systems can be more than soil systems. Growing strawberries in hydroponic systems are feasible, at reasonable cost and more sustainable compared to traditionally soil grown systems.  Future research should investigate various hydroponic growing methods and the feasibility of growing at the commercial level..