high quality, high tunnel winter strawberries
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High Quality, High Tunnel Winter Strawberries. Jeff Martin, M.S. Candidate Crops Group. Objective: Evaluate the quality of winter strawberry production when grown in high tunnels. Background. - PowerPoint PPT PresentationTRANSCRIPT
High Quality, High Tunnel Winter Strawberries
Jeff Martin, M.S. CandidateCrops Group
• Objective:Evaluate the quality of winter strawberry production when grown in high tunnels
Background• Strawberry plants under high tunnels were not
only better established, but also produced higher yields and quality than open field plants (Kadir et al., 2006).
• Early yields increased inside high tunnels when compared with those from open fields. Strawberry total marketable yields maximized inside high tunnels in comparison with open fields (Salam-Donoso et al., 2010).
Background
• Producing strawberries in the fall and following spring using high tunnels resulted in higher yields than those grown in the open field (Fernandez and Ballington, 2003).
• Tomatoes grown in high tunnels contained significantly higher levels of lycopene, sugars and red color (Wszelaki and Rogers, 2009).
Methods
• Six varieties compared • 4 replicated plots/variety inside and outside
high tunnels• 28 plants/plot with double-staggered row with
plants 12 in. apart on black plastic• Plants were fertilized once a week with fish
emulsion (1lb N/acre)• M-Pede, Aza-Direct and PyGanic were used for
insect control as needed
Pollination
Season 3- Plant Establishment• Fall planting (September 23, 2011)• All plugs
– June-Bearers• Chandler• Radiance• Strawberry Festival
– Day Neutrals • Albion• San Andreas• Seascape
Overwintering
Open Field: Ag-30 row cover
High Tunnel: Ag-19 row cover
Overwintering
High Tunnel (late December) Open Field (late February)
December Harvest
Yield characteristics measured:
• Marketable yield• Unmarketable yield
• Insect damage• Poor pollination• Cold damage
Season 3- Yields to Date
VarietyMarketable
Yield/Plot (lbs)Unmarketable Yield/Plot (lbs)
High TunnelsAlbion 1.2 1.2Seascape 0.5 0.7Chandler 0.2 0.9Radiance 2.8 2.0San Andreas 0.9 1.6Strawberry Festival 2.1 2.4
Bumblebee hives were placed in each tunnel November 10.Harvest began December 2; 6 harvests included until January 12.
Reasons for Unmarketability
VarietyInsect Damage (% by weight)
Poor Pollination
(% by weight)
Cold Damage (% by weight)
High TunnelsAlbion 49 23 30Seascape 51 21 26Chandler 67 27 5Radiance 77 14 7San Andreas 67 17 13Strawberry Festival 88 7 2
Lygus Bug Damage
2011 Fall- Fruit Quality
• Color• Firmness• Sugar content• Acidity• Shelf life
Colorimeter
• Used to objectively describe all the colors visible to the human eye.
• L= 0 yields black and L=100 yields white (lightness)
• a= negative values indicate green, positive values indicate magenta
• b= negative values indicate blue, positive values indicate yellow
Color Test
Variety L avg a avg b avg
High TunnelsAlbion 30.16 34.34 15.20Radiance 32.17 34.45 14.23Strawberry Festival 34.00 33.31 15.79P-value 0.1055 0.6942 0.5910
Force Dial™
• Measures firmness of fruit
• Wagner FDK 32• 1000 grams force x 10
grams force
Force Test
Variety Firmness (grams)
High TunnelsAlbion 299Radiance 256Strawberry Festival 300P-value 0.3869
Refractometer
• Reichert AR200 Digital Refractometer
• 1 degree Brix = 1 gram of sucrose in 100 grams of solution
• Represents the strength of the solution as percentage by weight
Soluble Solids
Variety Brix Value
High TunnelsAlbion 9.9 aRadiance 9.1 bStrawberry Festival 9.6 abP-value 0.0310
Season 3- Improvements• Winter high tunnel production• Excellent flavor, firmness and sugar content• Large berry size
Fire Ants
Parasitoids
Start of 2012 Harvest
Biodegradable Mulches for Specialty Crops Produced Under Protective Covers
Debra Inglis and Carol Miles (Project Directors)1;Andrew Corbin, Ana Espinola-Arredondo, Annabel Kirschner, Karen Leonas, Tom Marsh and Tom Walters1;
Doug Hayes, Bobby Jones, Jaehoon Lee, Larry Wadsworth and Annette Wszelaki2; Jennifer Moore-Kucera3; Russ Wallace4; Marion Brodhagen5 ; and Eric Belasco6;
1 25
SCRI Grant Award
No. 2009-51181-05897
43 6
Questions?