Two field experiments were conducted at the Experimental Farm of the Faculty of Agriculture, Suez Canal University during 1998/1999 and 1999/2000 seasons to study the effects of organic manuring in comparison with chemical fertilization on the growth, foliage nutrient content, yield and quality components of the strawberry cultivar ‘Chandler'. Organic treatments included 1) composted chicken manure in pelleted form (PCM), 2) Fertile Desert (FD) as composted plant manure, 3) fresh chicken manure (CM), 4) animal manure (AM) and 5) a combination of AM+CM. Mineral NPK and a control treatments were also included for comparison.
The obtained results indicated that PCM significantly increased most growth parameters, including number of leaves and crowns/plant, shoot and root fresh and dry weights as well as root length and number of flower trusses/plant. FD was comparable to or ranked second after PCM on growth enhancement as compared with NPK or the control. Foliage N,K, Mn and Zn contents were significantly higher in PCM, FD and AM + CM-treated plants while plants treated with FD had the highest P content. Early (March) fruit yield was significantly the highest with the application of PCM or FD in 1998/1999 and AM+CM in 1999/2000. Both PCM and FD treatments also produced the highest yield during April and May. Thus, PCM followed by FD significantly produced the highest total yield and fruit weight. Fruit TSS was not significantly different among treatments. However, fruits from PCM-treated plants had higher total sugars. The ascorbic acid content was also increased with PCM and FD treatments.