Supplementation of Naturally Fermented Solutions (NFS) to Production Management of Strawberry (Fragaria x ananassa) Grown in Isabela, Philippines

Strawberry production in Benguet is highly dependent on inorganic fertilizers which added to its high production cost. Cost cost-cutting strategy is imperative to elevate income and reduce the chemical substance added to the soil. To promote environmentally-friendly crop nutrients, supplementation of Naturally Fermented Solutions (NFS) to production management strawberries was conducted in Cabagan, Isabela from October 2021 to April 2022. Specifically, it aimed to determine which among the Naturally Fermented Solutions would yield the highest; determine the best Naturally Fermented Solutions that would give a quality fruit of strawberry; determine which among the Naturally Fermented Solutions gives the sweetest fruit of the strawberry; and determine the profitability of using NFS to strawberry production. Treatments were set following the split-plot statistical design and analysis. Treatments used were as follows: T1 (2 tbsp Vermitea), T2 (Kuhol Amino Acid + 2 tbsp/L vermitea), T3(2 tbsp/L Fermented Plant Juice + Calcium applied at flowering), T4 (2 tbsp/L Kuhol Amino Acid + 2 tbsp/L FFJ applied at flowering), T5 (2 tbsp/L Kuhol Amino Acid + Calcium applied at flowering), T6 (2 tbps/L Combinations of FPJ, FFJ, KAA, and Calcium), T7 (Control no application). The study revealed that vermitea added with NFS increases strawberry production. Among the 7 treatments evaluated, the highest yield (1,720.00 kg) was recorded by T1 using the Sweet Charlie variety. This treatment remarkably gave the highest of ROI of 248.18%. On contrary, T1 yielded 831.11 kg under the Japanese Shoga variety having a return of investment of 68.24%. Further, strawberries supplemented with NFS can yield comparable to those plants applied with inorganic fertilizers.