05/14/1991

Brewton Experiment Field Hosts Strawberry Field Day

BREWTON, Ala.—Commercial strawberry production using plastic-covered raised beds was the topic of discussion during a Strawberry Field Day held at the Brewton Experiment Field in Brewton on May 7.

The Field Day featured the results of the latest strawberry studies conducted at the Experiment Field, an outlying research unit of the Alabama Agricultural Experiment Station at Auburn University.

Dr. David Himelrick, a researcher working on small fruit studies, presented the findings of a study to evaluate a new production method for commercial Alabama strawberry production. Tours of the research plots were led by Himelrick and Experiment Field Superintendent Randy Akridge, and visitors were able to taste-test new varieties.

This new production method, called annual hill plastic culture, has been used in California and Florida and is gaining acceptance in Alabama. Himelrick explained that this production practice requires producers to form raised beds, about a foot off the ground, which can be fumigated, fitted with a drip irrigation system and covered with plastic. Strawberry plants are planted in the fall through the plastic into the underlying soil as an annual crop.

According to Himelrick, this system is more expensive than the typical matted-row culture used in the state, but it provides several production advantages. He said hill plastic culture berries are easier to harvest, cleaner, have less disease problems and produce larger yields. He noted that, as an annual crop, the plants tend to produce large berries each year rather than increasingly smaller berries commonly produced by daughter plants in matted row cultures.

Himelrick noted that the traditional eastern varieties used in matted row cultures cannot be used in this new system. Instead, producers must use varieties which are bred specifically for hill plastic culture production. He said these varieties produce large, attractive berries. But, he noted, berries from the California varieties tend to be less flavorful than the eastern berries.

Yield data collected from several weeks of harvesting at the Experiment Field showed that Chandler, the most commonly used variety, was higher in yields than the other varieties, producing 11,713 pounds per acre so far this season. Seascape was the second highest producer, yielding 10,197 pounds per acre and Capitola was third, producing 9,285 pounds per acre. Both Capitola and Seascape are new varieties. "These two are so new that we should know as much about these varieties as the California growers do," Himelrick said.

Several varieties fell in the moderate production range (8,500 to 8,900 pounds per acre) including a Chandler variety obtained from Canada, Oso Grande, Irvine and Douglas. The poorest producer was Selva, yielding only 4,415 pounds per acre.

The study at the Experiment Field also looked at the effectiveness of different types of plastic. Chandler and Selva plants were planted on black, reversible black and white, clear, brown and infrared light filtering plastics, and in a bare soil hill. The study showed that Chandler produced highest yields on clear plastic and the infrared filtering plastics, about 11,000 pounds per acre on either. The other three plastics produced yields of about 8,000 to 9,000 pounds per acre and the bare soil yielded only 5,837 pounds per acre.

Selva plants yielded highest on clear plastic (5,902 pounds per acre) and on black and brown plastics (about 5,200 on either). Bare soil hills again provided the lowest yields, about 3,500 pounds per acre.

Akridge noted that yields may change before the harvesting is complete since the type of plastic used will affect the bearing period. He explained that strawberries are very heat-sensitive. Berries grown on black plastic will enjoy hotter soil temperatures early in the season and get a head start on production. But, as the season gets hotter, they will stop producing. Berries grown on white plastic may not start as soon, but could possibly bear longer into the hotter weather.

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By:
Katie Smith