The present investigation was undertaken within unheated, protected greenhouse facilities at the Department of Horticulture and Landscape, College of Agriculture, Tikrit University, Iraq, spanning the 2023–2024 growing seasons. The research objective centered on elucidating the protective capacity of sorbitol in mitigating water.deficit.induced impairment of vegetative growth and productivity in the Ruby Gem cultivar (Fragaria x ananassa). A factorial arrangement within a randomized complete block design, replicated three times, was employed, incorporating two experimental factors: sorbitol application at concentrations of 0, 20, and 40 g L⁻¹, alongside water.stress intervals of 3, 5, and 7 days. Parameters evaluated encompassed fruit number, individual fruit mass, and foliar chlorophyll concentration, in addition to fruit anthocyanin, phenolic, and flavonoid contents.
The results showed significant effects of both sorbitol and water stress, and their interaction on most of the studied traits. The treatment with Sorbitol at 40 g/L⁻¹ (S2) significantly increased the number of fruits, fruit weight and chlorophyll content. In addition, accumulation of anthocyanins, phenols, and flavonoids were increased compared to the control treatment. The results also showed that increased water stress intensity led to decrease in the number and weight of fruits and chlorophyll content. However, it contributed to increases of anthocyanins, phenols and flavonoids as a defensive response. The interaction between the two factors resulted in increases in most of the studied chemical properties; this indicated the positive role of sorbitol in enhancing the ability of strawberry to withstand water stress.