The challenge: managing production peaks
One of the significant challenges in commercial strawberry growing is managing the production peaks. Traditional cultivation methods often lead to periods of high yields in the warmer months, followed by low or no yields in the colder months, resulting in a production cycle with significant fluctuations. This means that growers have to deal with a burst of productivity for a couple of months, followed by downtime. This inconsistency can be problematic, leading to fluctuating labor needs and financial instability for growers. The goal is to achieve a more balanced and predictable output of strawberries throughout the year.
The solution: Year-round cultivation of everbearing strawberries
Despite their advantages, everbearers are not widely used for winter production due to their susceptibility to dormancy during colder months. To keep everbearing strawberries active and out of dormancy during winter, effective lighting and irrigation strategies are essential. Here’s how you can achieve this:
Use LED lighting and maintain higher temperatures
Providing sufficient light is crucial for preventing dormancy in strawberry plants. Implement LED lighting to ensure your plants receive an elongated day length and aim for an adequate daily light integral. Maintain the greenhouse temperature higher than typical autumn temperatures to work in conjunction with the lighting and keep plants from entering dormancy. Utilize Next Generation Growing principles to keep energy screens mostly closed at night, minimizing heat input and reducing energy consumption.
Effective root zone management
Effective root zone management is crucial for the health and productivity of strawberry plants. Utilizing stone wool growing media and precise irrigation systems provides unparalleled control over growing conditions. Key practices include implementing an ebb-and-flood irrigation system for optimal moisture balance, using sensors like Grodan’s GroSens to monitor and adjust electrical conductivity (EC) and pH levels, and experimenting with different EC levels during propagation to identify the most effective irrigation strategy. These methods ensure uniform water distribution, prevent water stress, and promote healthy growth, leading to consistent and high-quality yields.
Learn more about successfully growing everbearers year-round in this article.
The results: Consistent and steady yields
By applying these innovative strategies in a recent trial, we achieved outstanding results in maintaining consistent strawberry production. From August until May, our trial demonstrated a continuous and steady yield of strawberries, with over 90% of the yield comprising class 1 fruits. The flattened production peaks ensured a minimum weekly production of 200 g/m and a total of 16.5 kg/m1, providing a reliable supply of fresh strawberries year-round.
Benefits of flattening the production peaks
The benefits of achieving consistent production go beyond just steady yields. It also significantly impacts labor management. By maintaining a balanced workload, growers can better plan and allocate their resources, ensuring that labor demands are evenly distributed throughout the year. This not only improves efficiency but also reduces the stress and challenges associated with managing labor during peak production times.
“By making it possible to run a single crop for the whole season, maintaining continuous production right through the winter with a flatter production curve, everbearers open up cost-saving opportunities for growers on multiple levels, ranging from plants and substrates to labour,” says Gert-Jan Goes, Horticulture service specialist at Fluence. “Additionally, growers can benefit from better quality, larger yields and higher prices, resulting in more profitability.”
Learn more about year-round strawberry cultivation using everbearers in a controlled environment: Download our whitepaper!
