Influence of graded levels of vermicompost integrated with FYMe-based fertigation on yield, fruit quality and soil microbial population of strawberry (Fragaria × ananassa Duch.) cv. Winter Dawn

Influence of graded levels of vermicompost integrated with FYMe-based fertigation on yield, fruit quality and soil microbial population of strawberry (Fragaria × ananassa Duch.) cv. Winter Dawn | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Research Article Influence of graded levels of vermicompost integrated with FYMe-based fertigation on yield, fruit quality and soil microbial population of strawberry (Fragaria × ananassa Duch.) cv. Winter Dawn Amit Shah, Kuldeep Singh Bhullar, Gulab Pandove, Gurmeet Singh Dheri This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-8789547/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Under Review Version 1 posted 9 You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract Organic farming is a sustainable alternative to conventional production systems. The present experiment was conducted during 2023-24 and 2024-25 to evaluate the effect of vermicompost integrated with farmyard manure extract (FYMe) fertigation on growth, yield, biochemical attributes, nutrient content and soil microbial population of strawberry ( Fragaria × ananassa Duch.) cv. Winter Dawn. The experiment was conducted in a randomised complete block design with five treatments and three replications. Treatments comprised vermicompost supplying 60, 80 and 100% of recommended nitrogen as basal dose, supplemented with 20% nitrogen through FYMe, along with vermicompost alone and an untreated control Results revealed that vermicompost and FYMe fertigation significantly influenced all measured parameters for both the years. Application of 100% nitrogen through vermicompost + FYMe consistently resulted in the highest plant growth, fruit yield, fruit number and fruit weight. Fruit quality attributes, including total soluble solids, total sugars, phenolic content, ascorbic acid and anthocyanin were also significantly enhanced under this treatment. Improved nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium content in the plant and soil along with increased number of beneficial microbes indicated improved nutrient availability and soil biological dynamics. The unfertilized control recorded the lowest value for all parameters. The study demonstrated that vermicompost supplemented with FYMe fertigation is an effective organic nutrient management strategy for enhancing productivity, fruit quality and soil microbial health of strawberry. Drip Irrigation Farmyard manure extract Organic Fertigation Strawberry Vermicompost Full Text Additional Declarations No competing interests reported. Cite Share Download PDF Status: Under Review Version 1 posted Editorial decision: Revision requested 07 Apr, 2026 Reviews received at journal 01 Apr, 2026 Reviews received at journal 07 Mar, 2026 Reviewers agreed at journal 05 Mar, 2026 Reviewers agreed at journal 14 Feb, 2026 Reviewers invited by journal 08 Feb, 2026 Editor assigned by journal 05 Feb, 2026 Submission checks completed at journal 05 Feb, 2026 First submitted to journal 04 Feb, 2026 You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. As a division of Research Square Company, we’re committed to making research communication faster, fairer, and more useful. We do this by developing innovative software and high quality services for the global research community. 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Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-8789547","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Research Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":587768565,"identity":"ae1facdb-b009-45c5-bb46-92bef26882a4","order_by":0,"name":"Amit Shah","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Punjab Agricultural University","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Amit","middleName":"","lastName":"Shah","suffix":""},{"id":587768568,"identity":"d365c9b9-55ba-4adc-ab89-400e5e41ba84","order_by":1,"name":"Kuldeep Singh Bhullar","email":"data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAZAAAAAyAQMAAABI0h/eAAAABlBMVEX///8AAABVwtN+AAAACXBIWXMAAA7EAAAOxAGVKw4bAAAAyUlEQVRIiWNgGAWjYBACCQYeNgaGAgsGBvYGsABjA3FaDCQYGHgOkKxFIoFILZL9Z4895jGQkDef+fbgZx4GG9kNBwhokZbISzcGajGcczsvWZqHIc2YoBY5CR4zaaAWxhnSOQZALYcTCWvhPwPWYj9D8ozxbx6G/4S1SDPkgLUkzgBbx3CAsBbJGXlpknMMJJJn8OSlWc4xSDaeSUiLxPmzxyTeVNjYzmA/e/jGmwo72T5CWpAADxAbEK8cpmUUjIJRMApGARYAAOZ1N71aRysMAAAAAElFTkSuQmCC","orcid":"","institution":"Punjab Agricultural University","correspondingAuthor":true,"prefix":"","firstName":"Kuldeep","middleName":"Singh","lastName":"Bhullar","suffix":""},{"id":587768569,"identity":"b48c36c8-7af0-460c-a6dd-001ba1e4aac8","order_by":2,"name":"Gulab Pandove","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Punjab Agricultural University","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Gulab","middleName":"","lastName":"Pandove","suffix":""},{"id":587768570,"identity":"dbd6bcc5-f27b-4d2d-bc74-41fd7482c8db","order_by":3,"name":"Gurmeet Singh Dheri","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Punjab Agricultural University","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Gurmeet","middleName":"Singh","lastName":"Dheri","suffix":""}],"badges":[],"createdAt":"2026-02-04 18:23:54","currentVersionCode":1,"declarations":"","doi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-8789547/v1","doiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-8789547/v1","draftVersion":[],"editorialEvents":[],"editorialNote":"","failedWorkflow":false,"files":[{"id":102524909,"identity":"1a6d938e-b04b-44ac-9b71-c852fafda5a8","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2026-02-12 15:12:15","extension":"pdf","order_by":1,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"manuscript-pdf","size":515734,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"","description":"","filename":"FinalManuscript.pdf","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-8789547/v1_covered_82e747e7-97c7-4276-86a0-8fd4b909dfee.pdf"}],"financialInterests":"No competing interests reported.","formattedTitle":"Influence of graded levels of vermicompost integrated with FYMe-based fertigation on yield, fruit quality and soil microbial population of strawberry (Fragaria × ananassa Duch.) cv. 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