International Journal of Horticulture, 2025, Vol.15, No.1, 21-28 http://hortherbpublisher.com/index.php/ijh 22 low 9 Mt/ha as compared to the global productivity of 23.58 mt/ha. Nepal imports worth NRs 2.1 million of strawberries annually i.e. 10 826 kg. The cultivation of strawberries is concentrated in hilly regions with the preoccupied mindset of strawberries being a temperate crop. The varieties used to cultivate strawberries in Nepal were limited to Nyho, Ahime, Iberry, and Ohno (Dhakal et al., 2002). Despite its nutritional value and high demand, the cultivation of strawberry is concentrated in hilly areas of Nepal and its potential areas have not been identified yet. The production of strawberries is flourishing according to the increasing consumer demand, thus spreading to Kathmandu, Biratnagar, Chitwan, and Dharan since 2018 but has not been established yet (https://english.onlinekhabar.com/returning-home-from-the-us-to-cultivate-his-dreams-and-strawberries.html). Strawberries are taken as a temperate crop, but this concept is not the same worldwide. Many tropical areas in the world are successfully cultivating strawberries. Under such conditions, identification of suitable variety and study of varietal performance for tropical and subtropical regions in Nepal is needed. The current global strawberry diversity includes 500 cultivated varieties and countless wild varieties. The investigation of varietal evaluation is imperative to assess them on various characters and parameters for selection for further breeding programs and production (Asrey and Singh, 2004). Thus, this experiment was designed to study the comparative growth and yield performance of different strawberry varieties under low chilling conditions to identify the commercial strawberry varieties suitable for tropical and subtropical regions of Nepal. 2 Materials and Methods 2.1 Research location and duration The experiment was conducted at the Research Field of Nepal Agrovine Private Limited, Bharatpur-5, Chitwan for over two years during the winter-summer season of the planting years 2020 and 2021. The first-year experiment was conducted from October 2020 to March 2021 and the postharvest study took place from January 2021 to April 2021. Similarly, the second-year experiment was conducted from October 2021 to March 2022 and the postharvest study was conducted from January 2022 to April 2022. 2.2 Treatment details In the present study, various varieties of strawberries were cultivated to assess their performance on growth and yield. The study consisted of eight varieties as treatments with seven low-chilling strawberry varieties developed in the United States and one widely cultivated Japanese variety as a control or check variety (Table 1). Table 1 Detail of treatments S.N. Treatments Details of the treatments (Variety) Remarks 1 T1 Florida Festival Low-chilling variety 2 T2 Florida Beauty Low-chilling variety 3 T3 Sweet Sensation Low-chilling variety 4 T4 Winter Star Low-chilling variety 5 T5 Elyana Low-chilling variety 6 T6 RubyGem Low-chilling variety 7 T7 Winter Dawn Low-chilling variety 8 T8 Nyho (Check) Commonly cultivated variety in Nepal 2.3 Experimental design and layout The field was laid out in a one factorial randomized complete block design (RCBD), which was replicated four times. The experimental field was well prepared with a length of 34.5 m and breadth of 10.5 m covering an area of 362.25m2. Replications were spaced one meter apart, and treatments were placed fifty centimeters apart. 2.4 Planting material and planting The bare-root strawberry transplants were planted in double rows with 30 cm ×30 cm spacing in raised beds mulched with plastic. There were 50 plants in each experimental unit. In both experimental years, the planting was done in the first week of October.
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