Integration of mulch and liquid fertilizer improves productivity and quality of strawberries in the north-western Himalayas, India

India produces approximately 19.84 thousand metric tons of strawberries from 3.03 thousand hectares, but this amount needs to be increased to meet the growing demand. The USA (65.0 t ha −1 ) and India (6.55 t ha −1 ) exhibit very different levels of strawberry productivity. The average global productivity, however, is 23.37 t ha −1 , which can be improved through the integration of multiple technologies, such as mulching, farmyard manures, and liquid fertilizers containing macro- and micronutrients. Therefore, the present study was conducted on strawberries (cv. Chandler, Camarosa, and Winter Dawn) with varying mulch and liquid fertilizer levels during 2019–2022 to improve strawberry productivity and quality. The experiment included 36 treatments (fertilizers with four levels, mulches with three levels, and cultivars with three levels), replicated three times and arranged in a split–split plot design (SSPD). The results demonstrated positive correlations among most traits under investigation, except for acidity, which was negatively correlated with fruit yield. Principal component analysis revealed a total variability of 85.5% among genotypes, contributed by PC-1 (77.2%) and PC-2 (8.3%). The Chandler variety with polythene + paddy straw mulch and liquid fertilizer level 1, exhibited the highest levels of vegetative growth, fruit output, fruit quality, and dry biomass. Therefore, to maximize net yield in strawberries, the use of liquid fertilizers supplying macro- and micronutrients in combination with polythene + paddy straw mulch on raised beds proved both effective and profitable.