We present inclusive ¶ and K *0 (892) cross sections and Feynman x -spectra in K + p collisions at 250 GeV/ c . In the K + fragmentation region, x > 0.2, the ratio of ¶ to K *0 (892) is used to estimate the strangeness suppression factor λ , with the result γ =0.17 ± 0.02 (stat ± 0.01 (syst). We see no evidence for an energy dependence of λ in the CM energy range 7.8 ≤ s ≤21.7 GeV.
The production of $K^*+(892)$, $K^{*0}+(892)$, $\rho^{0}(770)$ and $\omega(783)$ vector mesons in $q\bar{q}$ events as well as in the gluonic $\Upsilon(1S)$ decays and $\Upsilon(4S) \to B\bar{B}$ decays has been studied using the ARGUS detector. Combining these results with data on pseudoscalar meson, $\phi$ meson and baryon production collected with the same detector allow comprehensive studies of quark and gluon fragmentation. Model independent information on $s$ quark and vector meson suppression $(s/u = 0.37 \pm 0.04, V/(V+P)_{\pi} = 0.21 \pm 0.04$ and $V/( V+ P)_K = 0.34 \pm 0.03))$ are derived. The data are compared with predictions from the models Jetset 7.3 and UCLA 7.31.