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Strawberry Plasticulture – September 25,
2003
Vol 4, No. 53
In this issue:
-1. Ideal September weather for establishing fresh dugs
-2. Fresh pointers on setting fresh dug, bare-roots
-1. Ideal September weather for establishing fresh dugs: Today I was
able to visit one of our fresh dug plantings in piedmont NC (Lunsford
Farms, Prospect Hill) and check in on a crop that was less than 3 days
old (Figure 1).
Fig. 1. Overhead sprinkling at 10 am on 9.25.03 (start of the 3rd
day)
A total of 50,000 plants were set on Monday afternoon (9.22.03) from
12:30 pm – 7:30 pm by 21 “paid workers.” Conditions
early this morning were very pleasant – lower 70s, and last night
was very cool (50s). The sunny weather today (and yesterday), along
with the very mild temperatures were enjoying are made-to-order for
fresh dug plant establishment. We will see warmer conditions on Friday
(9.26). There is a possibility of some rain on Saturday, and this could
provide some relief from such and intensive irrigation program (Figure
2). Otherwise, the sprinkling must continue all day long until at least
next Mon-Tue (9.29-9.30) and it is very possible that it will be needed
through next Friday.
Fig. 2. The SkyBit for Clayton, NC – sunny conditions
will continue Friday (9.26) with weekend showers possible. Even cooler
conditions
next week are in the forecast. The SkyBit temperature for the canopy
is the one you should follow during plant establishment on black plastic.
-2. Fresh pointers on setting fresh dug, bare-roots:
* Continuous sprinkling is essential in the first week
Fig. 3. When you see this much plant wilting, the sprinkling must
be started. These fresh dugs were upright at 9:45 am (water starte
today at 8:30 am), but reached this semi-wilted condition in just 15
minutes. Air temperatures were in the low 70s this morning (Sept. 25),
but warmer on the black plastic.
Fig. 4. Closer look at wilting plant – in a few more minutes
the leaves will be flat against the plastic (in the absence of sprinkling).
DON’T ALLOW THIS TO HAPPEN
-2. Fresh pointers on setting fresh dug, bare-roots (cont’d):
* Shorter roots present plant depth problem
* Avoid J-root problem
Fig. 5. A shorter root system can contribute to a planting depth problem.
This plant had a 3 inch depth root system (normally we like 5 inches).
However, the other problem here relates to the root system being J-rooted.
J-rooted plants will be very unthrifty in subsequent growth. Roots
must be set straight down into the planting hole!
Fig. 6. Illustration of J-rooted plant from http://intra.ces.ncsu.edu/depts/hort/berrydoc/special/SR4_spanish.pdf
Fig.
7. A more desirable root of about 4-5 inches for transplanting with
the spacing wheel shown below (fig. 8). In this photo, we are inspecting
the 3 day old fresh dug plant for evidence of “new white roots” – these
should be breaking in another day or so with the constant daytime watering
regime being followed.
Figs. 8 and 9. Spacing wheels used to punch the hole for fresh dugs
is approximately 4 inches.
Fig. 10. A very healthy looking fresh dug on DAY 3.
Fig. 11. The plant in Fig. 10 (above) also has an ideal root system
(about 5 inches) that was set straight down into the soil and not J-rooted.
-2. Fresh pointers on setting fresh dug, bare-roots (cont’d):
* Growing point covered….big problems!
Fig. 12. This growing point is covered in soil because the plant was
set too deeply.
Note: this illustration is from Strawberry Production in Florida,
E.E. Albregts and C. M. Howard, Bulletin 841, August 1984. Ag. Exper.
Stations, IFAS, Univ.
of FL. p. 12
Fig. 14. Tomorrow morning, Mr. Lunsford will have his crew go through
the field before starting the irrigation to “gently” lift the fresh
dug plants that still have a layer of soil covering the growing point.
Fig.
15. If you try to slightly “lift” the plant by the petioles, you
may cause injury to the leaves – it would be better to grasp your fingers
around the base of the plant to lift it just enough so the growing point is
exposed again.
Fig. 16. A well exposed growing point – you
can already see the new leaf (trifoliate emerging).
Fig.
17. If you look real hard, you can just barely see a green tissue
trying to emerge from the base of this plant – this is the newest
trifoliate breaking through, and that is your goal in re-setting the
depth of plants that were set too deeply…to make sure that this
new trifoliate can emerge (I will try to get a better photo of this
in the Sandhills on Friday).
Good luck!
E. Barclay Poling, Small Fruit Specialist
Campus Box 7609
Kilgore Hall - Office 252
NC State University
Raleigh, North Carolina 27695-7609
919.515.1195
919.515.2505 (fax)
919.418.9687 (mobile)
web site:
http://intra.ces.ncsu.edu/depts/hort/berrydoc/
click HERE
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