1. Out of Season Strawberry Production Research Michael Newell Maryland Agricultural Experiment Station Wye Research and Education Center

2. Limitations Strawberries are a cool-season plant ! Temperatures and light levels in the Winter may be to low to make production economically viable Availability of plant material All varieties do not respond the same

3. Strawberry Types Categorized by type of floral induction induced by day-length, (temperature influenced) -Short-day, June bearers -Everything else everbearers, repeat bearers day-neutral

4. Planting Stock Type Dormant bare-rooted Fresh dug bare-rooted, green top or cutoffs Runner tips Plug plants, tray plants Waiting plants (dormant multi-crown)

5. Research at WYE * Early Spring production Prior to outdoor field production * Fall production Thanksgiving and Christmas market

6. Early Spring Programmed System Programmed harvest using multi-crowned (waiting plants) bare-rooted dormant plants - 60 days from planting to harvest - variety specific temperatures (day/night) - artificial light to increase day-length - plant material is expensive (~0.30/plant) -extend season with successive plantings

8. Early Spring Programmed System Multi-crowned dormant plants Eros, Jewel, Cavendish Gutters 8 x 4 x 8 = 5.3 sqft Metro mix 560, queen-gel drip tape Plant 2/23 Harvest 4/21-5/14 Spacing in gutter = 6 x 6 = 32 plants/gut Bumble bee pollination

10. Greenhouse Yields / sqft/gutter(6 plants) Variety Crown # Grams Fruit # Berry size Eros2 363.2 28.3 12.8 Eros3 404.129.7 13.6 Cavendish2 86.1 8.3 10.3 Jewel2 268.023.0 11.6 Jewel1 179.016.6 10.7

11. Early Spring Production with Plugs August 1 tip-plugging date Camarosa, Chandler, Sweet Charlie Plant in gutter September 18 in Greenhouse, 32 plants/gutter = 5.3 sqft Moved outdoor on December 21 Covered with FRC Moved into greenhouse February 15 Keep night time temps > 32f

12. Greenhouse Plug Yields 2005 VarietyYield /sqft grams Yield/plant grams First harvest Camarosa809132April 22 Chandler844140April 22 Sw. Charlie37862April 12

13. Strawberry Production in Tunnels Objectives To produce strawberries in November and December Followed by early Spring production Use the annual production system Use short-day varieties

14. Fall Production With the Annual System - Important Points Use early-flowering short-day varieties Use 60 day-old, runner-tip propagated plugs (#50) Plant September 1st in high tunnel Heat and cold tunnel management Pest management Pre-plant and drip fertilization

15. Early-flowering Short-day Varieties Sweet Charlie Carmine Ventana Florida Festival Earlibrite Chandler Camarosa

16. Fall Production With the Annual System - Important Points Use early-flowering short-day varieties Use 60 day-old, runner-tip propagated plugs (#50) Plant September 1st in high tunnel Heat and cold tunnel management Pest management Pre-plant and drip fertilization

18. Fall Production With the Annual System - Important Points Use early-flowering short-day varieties Use 60 day-old, runner-tip propagated plugs (#50) Plant September 1st in high tunnel Heat and cold tunnel management Pest management Pre-plant and drip fertilization

19. Fall Production Important Points Use early-flowering short-day varieties Use 60 day-old, runner-tip propagated plugs (#50) Plant September 1st in high tunnel Heat and cold tunnel management Pest management Pre-plant and drip fertilization

21. Fall Production in High Tunnel Sweet Charlie, short-day, early flowering Early tip-plugged (ET), July 1, 50 cell tray Pre-plant fertility same as outdoor culture Raised beds, black plastic, drip irrigation Plant in HT September 1 Manage HT heat/cold Harvest early November Harvest in Spring

23. High Tunnel Results Sweet Charlie (ET) 2004/Fall Yield (ET)2005/Spring yield 81.7 gr/plant526.6 gr/plant 1 st pick 11/12/041 st pick 3/28/05 2005/Fall yield (ET) 2006/Spring yield 40.8 gr/plant 445 gr/plant 1 st pick 11/7/05 1 st pick 3/31/06

25. Fall 2006 Yield CultivarYield/plant (lbs) First Pick Ventana0.24November 15 Chandler0.5December 1 Sweet Charlie 0.5November 1 Camarosa0.52November 1 Carmine0.72November 1

26. Spring 2007 Yield and Total Yield CultivarSpring Yield/plant (lbs) Total Yield Fall+Spring (lbs) Ventana1.281.52 Chandler1.141.90 Sweet Charlie0.781.28 Camarosa0.861.38 Carmine0.901.62

27. 2009/2010 Strawberry Festival Tip-plugged 7/1/2009 Total Grams/plant Fruit Size (gr)Harvest Date Fall Harvest5217.310/21-1/8 Spring Harvest54611.04/9-6/11

28. 2010/2011 Strawberry Festival Planted in July 2010 as a dormant bare- rooted plant in 32 cell trays Planted in tunnel 9/22/2010 First flowers on 11/18/2010 No Fall harvest Spring harvest 3/7- 5/10/2011 1.13 lb/plant, 12.0 gr berry size

29. Summary *Be realistic for a target harvest season *All varieties do not perform the same under similar conditions *Choose varieties/plant stock for desired harvest season *If working in an unconditioned structure, seasonal weather may influence outcome *Work with nurseries for needed material

30. Wye Research Center Spring Strawberry Twilight Meeting Questions