06/16/1995

Strawberry Research Results Featured at Field Day

CLANTON, Ala. - Strawberry production in Chilton County is showing steady growth, and the future looks bright for that industry to continue its expansion.

That's the word from researchers who recently presented a Strawberry Field Day at the Chilton Area Horticulture Substation in Clanton. The Field Day featured the latest results of strawberry research underway at the Substation, an outlying research unit of the Alabama Agricultural Experiment Station (AAES) at Auburn University.

Bobby Boozer, horticulturist at the Substation, provided growers an update of this year's strawberry crop. "It was an unusual year for strawberries in this area," he said. "No freeze protection was used and yields were good in most places."

"Strawberries aren't new to Chilton County," he continued, "but growing strawberries on plasticulture is fairly www." Plasticulture involves growing strawberries as an annual crop on raised beds that are covered with plastic mulch.

Traditionally strawberries have been grown on matted rows, where strawberries plants are matted with straw and allowed to regrow each year for several years. With plasticulture, new plants are planted each year in the raised beds. This system appears to provide good yields, allows producers more control of fertilizer, water and pesticide applications and provides other production and management advantages.

"Growers first started using plasticulture in 1991 and there are now 20 acres of strawberries grown on black plastic mulches in Chilton County," said Boozer. "It also is being used in other parts of the state."

David Himelrick, professor of horticulture at Auburn, noted that variety studies continue to offer new information about the best varieties for Alabama production, particularly using plasticulture. He explained that different varieties are used in plasticulture than in matted-row systems, and research is helping identify which ones will work best in Alabama.

According to Himelrick, several new varieties from California that have been tested at the Substation show promise for Alabama production, although Chandler, the most commonly used variety, still is a good choice for producers.

Beth Guertal, assistant professor of agronomy and soils at Auburn, noted that research is being conducted to determine the best ways to fertilize these plasticulture-grown strawberries. Two fertility studies are underway at the Substation, one on polymer-coated slow-release fertilizer and another to refine application rates of nitrogen through fertigation systems.

According to Guertal, preliminary results show that the new slow-release fertilizer is effective, but expensive and may become more expensive in the future. However, she noted, the price of traditional commercial fertilizer also is rising, which may close the monetary gap between the two types of fertilizers. Results of the fertigation study, she said, are still too preliminary to provide solid answers, but the study may eventually help producers know when to turn on and off their nitrogen applications.

Mike Patterson, associate professor of agronomy and soils, also discussed herbicides for use with plasticulture. He said several herbicides, some of which are not yet registered for use on strawberries, were evaluated for effectiveness against various weeds and also for injury to the strawberry crop. Stinger, a post emergence herbicide that is being evaluated for preemergence use on weeds, caused some crop injury, but produced high yields of strawberries. Further investigation may help producers find new ways to control weeds in their crops.

Boozer noted that he expects there results and other research to help the industry continue its steady, constant growth in the area. More information on these and other strawberry studies underway at the Substation may be obtained by calling he Substation at (205) 646-3610.

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News from:

Office of Ag Communications & Marketing

Auburn University College of Agriculture
Alabama Agricultural Experiment Station
3 Comer Hall, Auburn University
Auburn, AL 36849
334-844-4877 (PHONE) 334-844-5892 (FAX)

Contact Jamie Creamer, 334-844-2783 or jcreamer@auburn.edu
Contact Katie Jackson, 334-844-5886 or smithcl@auburn.edu

June 16, 1995