Growth Response of Strawberry Seedlings to Application of Solid Chlorella

A liquid-type chlorella (LC) produced by self-cultivation is used for strawberry cultivation by farmers in Korea. This study aimed to investigate seedling growth in two strawberry cultivars ‘Soraya’ and ‘Haruhi’ after applying solid-type chlorella (SC) in the greenhouse for 30 d. The treatments were as follows: Control, LC (0.2% of 1.0 × 10⁷ cells/mL), ¼ SC (12.5 g/m²), ½ SC (25 g/m²), and SC (50 g/m²). Compared to the control, in the ½ SC treatment, dry weight of the seedlings increased at 30 days after treatment (DAT). Phosphorus content in the leaves of ‘Soraya’ seedlings of the SC treatment increased compared to that of the control. At 10 and 30 DAT, photosynthetic pigments including chlorophylls and carotenoids in the seed-lings of both cultivars increased with the ½ SC treatment. These results indicate that the application of SC improved the growth of strawberry seedlings and could replace LC.