Vol. 10, Issue 10 (2021)

Author(s):
Subhrajyoti Mishra, KM Karetha, Meera B Solanki and Bhavin Gohel

Abstract:
In the last few decades the innovative farming technology such as vertical farming has attracted the scientific community and grower as an alternative food production method. Vertical farms use engineered growth environments and soil less cultivation techniques for growing plants indoors. Owing to scanty research in the leaf growth behaviour of strawberry under vertical cultivation system we have adopted this research to evaluate the leaf morphometrics under the vertical and horizontal production system comprising of four treatments each replicated four times. The single layer system (T₁) demonstrated significantly maximum leaf length (7.53 cm), while the four layer system (T₄) has the greater leaf width (12.06 cm). The triple layer system (T₃) has statistically significant effect on petiole length (15.34 cm). The petiole diameter was non-significantly affected among the different treatments. The four layer system (T₄) exhibited maximum leaf fresh weight (1.44 g), while the leaf dry weight (0.58 g) was supreme in the triple layer system (T₃). Again the leaf dry weight: fresh weight ratio (0.39) was excellent in the double layer system (T₂) that was closely followed by the triple layer system (T₃). Hence, it can be concluded that the adaptation of the triple layer system (T₃) of vertical gardening could be considered in strawberry cv. Winter Down under the protected structures.