The horticulture industry has seen an increase in the use of greenhouses as an alternative protected systems to grow strawberries (Fragaria ×ananassa Duch.). Growing strawberries in a greenhouse provides the opportunity for earlier and out-of-season harvesting. However, there is limited research on the phenological and physiological performance of strawberries grown in containers under greenhouse conditions. Therefore, this experiment aims to evaluate the phenological and physiological performance of containerized strawberries grown in a greenhouse. In this study, two day-neutral strawberry cultivars, ‘Albion’ and ‘San Andreas’, were planted in 1-gallon nursery pots using 100% pine bark substrate and evaluated for a 5-month growing season. The phenological stages of all flower buds were recorded daily on five selected plants per cultivar. Monthly data was collected on biomass and diurnal photosynthesis. The yield of all plants was recorded, and fruits were separated into marketable and culled categories. During mid-season plants became infected with black root rot (Pythium spp.), and the results reflect the effects of the disease progression. Although the flower phenology was similar between cultivars throughout the production cycle, differences were observed in biomass accumulation and yield. ‘San Andreas’ showed higher growth over time and a decreased proportion of cull fruits during the Pythium infection. The cultivars evaluated showed similar trends in physiological processes, such as assimilation rate, evapotranspiration, intercellular carbon, stomatal conductance, leaf vapor pressure deficit, and quantum efficiency of photosystem II. Although not consistent, ‘San Andreas’ showed significantly higher values for some physiological parameters. These results indicate that strawberry growth and yield differ between cultivars in the greenhouse environment, which could be related to physiological factors that can ultimately translate to differences in disease susceptibility and performance The initial preliminary results of the first experiment indicates that strawberries can be cultivated with satisfactory results in a greenhouse. This alternative method can offer extended growing seasons, allowing for controlling environments, better disease control management, and easier pest control. Moreover, the portability of containers provides flexibility for the producer to arrange plants for space utilization.
