Study of the Effect of Organic Fertilizer and Proline on Some Chemical Indicators of Strawberry

Abstract

A study was conducted at the nursery of the Najaf Agriculture Directorate from November 1, 2024, to March 25, 2025. The study aimed to evaluate the effect of adding Anti-Salting fertilizer at a concentration of (0, 5, and 10 ml.L-1) and proline amino acid at (0, 50, and 100 mg.L-1) to the strawberry Var. (Ruby Gem). Certain chemical indicators of strawberry seedlings were studied under the unventilated greenhouses. The experiment was implemented as a factorial experiment using a randomized complete block design. The number of treatments was nine, randomly distributed into three blocks. This resulted in a total of 27 experimental units. Means of vegetative and chemical characteristics were analyzed using GenStat (statistical analysis software). Means were compared using Duncan's multiple range test at the probability of 0.05. Application of the anti-salt fertilizer at the rate of 10 ml.L-1 showed a significant effect on some chemical indicators of strawberry leaves over control treatments. These indicators include superiority in total chlorophyll content, carbohydrate content, nitrogen percentage (N%), and phosphorus percentage (P%). These indicators recorded 40.72 mg.100 g fresh weight -1, 29.8 mg. dry weight -1, 2.822%, and 2.079% respectively. Treating seedlings with proline (an amino acid) at a concentration of 100 mg L-1 increased leaf content of total chlorophyll, leaf content of carbohydrate, phosphorus percentage in leaves, and total sugar content in fruits. These characteristics reached 31.30 mg L-100 fresh weight, 25.06 mg.L-1 dry weight, 1.548%, and 19.45 mg.100 g fresh weight-1, respectively.