Effect of Inocucor on strawberry plants growth and production Final report For Inocucor Technologies Inc. 20 Grove, Knowlton, Quebec, J0E 1V0 Jae Min Park, Dr. Soledad Saldías, Kristen Delaney and Dr. George Lazarovits A&L Biologicals, Agroecology Research Services Centre 2136 Jetstream Road, London, ON, Canada, N5V 3P5, 519-457-2575 (ext 246): cell 519-878-1323
Objective To test the effect of Inocucor product (batch # EA 130129-2) on strawberry growth and production. Methods Plot design: The field consisted of a total area of 522,6 m 2 (5,625 square feet) planted with 12 rows each containing 650 plants spaced approximately 15 cm (6 inches) apart. 200 Albion strawberry seedlings per treatment were planted in the middle of the field (rows 4 to 6) on a single row with 50 control plants (pre-treated with water) planted at the end of each row. Nine different treatments were applied in this field trial (Figure 1). Seedling treatment: Strawberry seedlings were received from Nova Scotia and kept at 4 C. One day before planting, seedlings were soaked in 6 liters of a 1/40 dilution of Inocucor (batch # EA 130129-2). Seedlings were first completely submerged in the treatment solution and then roots were left soaking for 4 hrs. Control plants were treated with water. Two and a half months after planting, plants were re-treated by drenching each plant with approximately 30 ml of the respective treatment. Planting and growth assessment: Strawberry seedlings were planted by hand on a Farm in Lambeth, Ontario on May 29, 2014. Soil was fertilized with 4.5 kilos (10 lbs) per week of equal amounts of calcium nitrate and potassium nitrate. Plant growth was monitored at the sixth and eleventh week after planting (July 9 and August 14, 2014) by measuring chlorophyll content, leaf height and width. Fruit harvest: On August 13 the harvest season began and fruits were collected, by the farmer, every two days for approximately two months (until October 6, 2014). After each harvest, fruits per treatment were weighted and the results reported to A & L Biologicals. Statistical Analysis: Data were analyzed using the SAS program and the General Linear Model (GLM) Procedure. This procedure gives the results of three different statistical tests including T- Tests, Duncan s Multiple Range Test and Tukey s Studentized Range. 2
Results On May 29, 2014, 200 strawberry seedlings treated with Inocucor (1/40) were planted following the plot design presented on Figure 1. Figure 1. Strawberry field. Graphic representation of the strawberry plots map. Each color represent one treatment. Each plot had a single row of 200 strawberries planted 15 cm apart. Control seedlings were planted at the end of each row. Plants on rows 1 to 3 and 7 to 12 acted as guards. Six weeks after planting, plant growth was monitored, and as shown on Figure 2, strawberry seedlings treated with Inocucor and control seedlings had similar growth physiology. Figure 2. Strawberry growth 6 weeks after planting. (A) General view of the field. (B) Strawberry plants grown for six weeks. 3
H e ig h t (c m ) W id th (c m ) C h lo ro p h y ll C o n te n t Chlorophyll content was determined using SPAD 502 chlorophyll meter (area measured= 2 mm X 3 mm, Konica). The values defined by the SPAD 502 chlorophyll meter indicate the relative amount of chlorophyll present in strawberry plant leaves. Chlorophyll readings were taken from 3 leaves of 40 plants per treatment. Plants were randomly selected. We did not find any statistically significant differences between control or Inocucor treated plants (Figure 3). 6 0 C h lo r o p h y ll c o n te n t 5 0 4 0 3 0 2 0 1 0 0 C o n t r o l In o c u c o r Figure 3. Effect of Inocucor in the chlorophyll content of strawberry plants. Bars and error bars show the mean and standard deviation, respectively, of chlorophyll. Forty plants from each treatment were randomly selected and leaf width and height was measured for 4 leaves per plant. As shown on Figure 4, the width and height of leaves from plants treated with Inocucor were significantly bigger than control leaves (p<0.0001). These results showed that Inocucor stimulated plant growth. L e a f h e ig h t L e a f w id th 1 0 1 0 8 6 8 **** **** 6 4 4 2 2 0 C o n t r o l In o c u c o r 0 C o n t r o l In o c u c o r Figure 4. Effect of Inocucor on strawberry plants growth. Bars and error bars show the mean and standard deviation, respectively, of height and width of the leaves. **** = statistically significant with a 99.99 % confidence level (P < 0.0001). 4
Eleven weeks after planting, leaves height and width was measured as described above. This time we did not find any statistically significant difference between treated and control plants (Figure 5). Figure 5. Effect of Inocucor on strawberry plants growth. (A) General view of the field 3 months after planting. (B) Bars and error bars show the mean and standard deviation, respectively, of height and width of the leaves. On August 13 harvest season began and since then fruits were collected every two days. Figure 6 shows a comparison over time of the fruit production between control and Inocucor treated plants. In general, treated plants produced higher yields than control plants during the whole season and production stayed more uniform over time. Data collected after the final harvest on October 9, 2014, showed that Inocucor treated plants produced 42.9 kilos (94.63 lbs) while control plants produced 32.8 kilos (72.23 lbs) (Figure 7). This represents a 31% increase in yields. 5
Figure 6. Effect of Inocucor on strawberry yields over time. Figure 7. Effect of Inocucor on strawberry production. Conclusions Treating strawberry seedlings with Inocucor before planting improved plant growth at early stages and more importantly, increased strawberry production by 31% as compared to control plants. It is important to validate this results by repeating the field trials next season, ideally on more than one farm. 6