 |
||||
|
Strawberry Plasticulture August 16, 2002 In this issue: -1. General comments: In the busyness of this summer I feel that I've nearly lost sight of the importance of regular communications via berry-mg (electronic newsletter) and Berry Agent. I noted this early morning that I've not had an advisory to go out since June 25th! But, we have been very occupied with a full slate of summer strawberry plasticulture preplant meetings around the state and region. Most of these meetings have been sponsored by the NC Strawberry Association and have had the full support of our Agents and Specialists, including Frank Louws and Ken Sorenesen. In addition, we have had some programs in conjunction with Clemson (Aug 5 Orangeburg) and University of Arkansas. We finish up with three meetings next week - two in NC (Prospect Hill, Aug 19; Wilson, Aug. 20), and the one in Little Rock, Arkansas (Aug 22). One of the more interesting developments of this summer has been the realization of how badly you can get trapped with a planting date that is either too early (2001-2002 season) or too late (2000-2001 season) most growers now seem to be leaning to a slightly later date than last year (see discussion of planting dates by variety in No. 4 In the area of research and on-farm evaluations we are pleased to inform you that because of a NC Strawberry Association grant we have been able to propagate several thousand plugs for a new round of strawberry selection and variety testing, and we will publicize the locations of 5 cooperator trials across North Carolina in a September issue of Berry Agent. The new strawberry selections include one that Dr. Jim Ballington is hoping to name in the near future NCR 95-08. This particular selection has fruit anthracnose resistance as well as having very good quality. In the 2001-2002 season at the Upper Piedmont Research Station, this selection had a marketable yield of about 1 lb/plant. Our congratulations to Jim for his being recently recognized as a Fellow in the American Society for Horticultural Science at the joint meeting of ASHS and the International Horticultural Congress (IHC) in Toronto (Aug. 11-17). This meeting is still underway - through tomorrow (Saturday). I was able to attend the early part of the meeting and then headed back to resume work with Dr. Steve Toth, Extension Specialist, Entomology, on developing a Critical Use Exemption (CUE) application for methyl bromide (due Sept. 9 to EPA). Canadian micropropagation unit gets funding. I did have an opportunity to visit with Dr. Adam Dale, Univ. of Guelph, Dept. of Plant Agriculture, on Monday in Toronto about a large-scale strawberry micropropagation and virus testing program in Ontario that Adam will be heading up (he has received a $250,000 grant). There are a number of strawberry nurseries in Southern Ontario that will directly benefit >from this initiative. In effect, this program will remove the "California Nursery Plant Connection." This will help in the control of both anthracnose and Phytophthora cactorum. Members of the NCSU Micropropagation Unit used a portion of their week in Canada to visit the strawberry nurseries in Simcoe (Coopers and Ghesquieres). The drought is having considerable impact on decisions by many growers to switch into plugs this year, and I understand from conversations with several agents and growers that extremely limited water supplies are basically forcing growers in our most drought stricken part of NC (central and western Piedmont) to rule out any possibility of trying to establish fresh dug plants this fall because of the considerable quantities of overhead irrigation needed for establishing this type of plant compared to a plug. -2. Establishing plugs and fresh dugs. In the interest of time, I'd like to identify on the web specific issues of Berry Agent that may be worth reviewing at this time: http://intra.ces.ncsu.edu/depts/hort/berrydoc/sept6.htm (misting schedules, etc.) http://intra.ces.ncsu.edu/depts/hort/berrydoc/sept17/index.htm (more on misting schedules and botrytis control in trays with Elevate) http://intra.ces.ncsu.edu/depts/hort/berrydoc/oct 2.htm (plug watering and overhead irrigation schedules for fresh dugs) I still favor this schedule for plug plant establishment in the field:
Also, the University of Florida has information on strawberry pest identification at: http://strawberry.ifas.ufl.edu. Leaves and crowns of new tip plants should be examined with a hand lens for signs of spider mites. Upon plant arrival, be sure to carefully examine boxes of tips and/or fresh dugs for overall plant uniformity and condition petioles and leaves that are crushed or broken in handling will delay establishment. Early recognition of problems with mechanical injury and/or pest condition of the transplants can help to eliminate HUGE PROBLEMS during the season. It is a mistake to set strawberry fresh dugs or plugs that will fail to grow, grow slowly or infest a production field with pests unnecessarily. If you are rooting your own plugs this year…Tips should arrive 4 weeks in advance of plug transplanting dates. It is possible to have a plug ready to go to the field in 3 ½ weeks. If you need some reminders on plug propagation: http://intra.ces.ncsu.edu/depts/hort/berrydoc/june15/index.htm
-4. Planting dates Additional comments: At the preplant meeting in Kinston this summer (Aug 1), we felt that several days of "backing up" with Camarosa may be appropriate. Thus, a producer accustomed to setting Camarosa on Oct 5th, should think about setting on Oct. 1st or 2nd. Also, the 12 inch in-row spacing is best for Sweet Charlie (17,424 plants/A at 5 ft center). Camarosa and Chandler are commonly set at 14 inch in-row (14,550 plants/A) spacing because of their extra plant vigor. Our production target with Camarosa and Chandler is at least 1.7 pounds of marketable fruit per plant (preferably higher) this amounts to 24,735 lbs/A (14,550 plants/A). You can actually exceed this level of production in some seasons, but fruit size drops and picking becomes difficult with larger plants (more than 6-7 crowns). I recommend not exceeding 6 crowns per plant (some of our most seasoned growers are having better picking and marketing results with the more compact 4-5 crown plants). The best way to control branch crown numbers is by planting date. When you plant too early, you'll note extra runnering in the fall and next spring you could be faced with trying to manage some very large plants always a losing battle. This is why we stick with the transplanting windows recommended above. Over the years, these dates are associated with the best quantity and quality outcomes for Chandler, Camarosa and Sweet Charlie.
The program will start at 3:30 PM for new growers who would like to gain some basic information which will include: *Estimating Your Customer Trade Area Before Planting Strawberries At 4:00, the rest of the program will include: *Use of Row Covers for Frost Protection in Place of Overhead Irrigation The program will conclude at 6:00 with a sponsored supper. To pre-register for the meeting, contact Jean in Granville County at 919-603-1350 or M.J. In Person County at 336-599-1195 as soon as possible so we can get an accurate meal count. The meeting is free and open to the public. I look forward to seeing you on August 19. Sincerely,
Meeting at Wilson Ag Center starting at 6:00pm Comments from Counties on last years crop and highlights of problems
and Dr. Poling- Production Topics-30 minutes Door Prizes-Adjourn Billy Little Have a great weekend! Barclay Poling E. Barclay Poling, Small Fruit Specialist web site: click HERE
to return to strawberry advisories page |
||||
|
all
material © Barclay Poling |
||||
 |
|
|
|
|
