Impact of koi fish effluents from fruit-peel-based feeds on sustainable growth and yield of camarosa strawberry

Sustainable agricultural practices aim to increase crop productivity while minimizing environmental harm, necessitating eco-friendly alternatives to conventional chemical fertilizers, which, despite their efficacy, contribute to soil degradation and water pollution. One such approach is using nutrient-rich fish effluents, which provide sustainable and organic sources of much-needed nutrients, including nitrogen, phosphorus, etc., and beneficial microorganisms. This study is intended to analyze the effects of different fish effluents derived from fruit peel feeds on strawberry plants for growth evaluation, yield, and quality improvement. Five treatments, Absolute water (AW), Water + RDF (WR), CFE (Commercial fish feed effluent), PFE (Pineapple peel fish feed effluent), and BFE (Banana peel fish feed effluent) were applied to the plants. CFE, PFE, and BFE were the three different fish effluents applied to the strawberry plants obtained from Koi fish, fed with commercial fish feed, pineapple, and banana peel. The impacts of these treatments were measured and assessed based on the agronomic and quality parameters. Compared to AW and WR, organic treatments with fish effluents correspondingly enhanced the growth of plants, yield, and quality. Among the treatments, effluent derived from pineapple peel (PFE) reflects the most significant enhancement in the number of leaves, larger plant spread, and higher fruit set percentage, as well as improving quality parameters such as phenols, total soluble solids, and titratable acidity. However, BFE outdid PFE in enhancing protein and ascorbic acid content, which indicated its superior influence on specific nutritional parameters. The findings therefore highlight that fish effluents, particularly PFE and BFE, i.e., pineapple peel feed effluent and banana peel feed effluent, significantly enhance the growth, yield, and quality of Camarosa strawberries, attributing to their higher phosphorus and potassium levels.