ISHS Acta Horticulturae 708: V International Strawberry Symposium
IMPACT OF PRODUCTION SYSTEMS AND FERTILIZER APPLI-CATION ON YIELD AND QUALITY OF STRAWBERRIES |
| Authors: | M. Martinsson, A. Kwast, G. Cieslinski, W. Treder |
| Abstract:
Field-grown ‘Elsanta’ strawberries produced conventionally on raised beds with plastic mulch and with broadcast NPK and Mg and overhead irrigation, were compared with several regimes of fertigation. Treatments with several N rates were applied to determine the optimal N rate for fertigation systems. Fertigation with a complete nutrient package lead to a 47% yield increase and enhanced N use efficiency. Fertigation with 60 kg N/ha was sufficient for high yield and good fruit quality. A field trial on light soil with broadcast solid fertilizers showed that a change from one appli-cation to 3 or 4 split applications, enhanced yield by 3-5%. In a pot trial, calcium nitrate in combination with potassium nitrate was better than an ammonium based fertilizer package without extra calcium in terms of yield (+13%), berry size (25%) and root growth (6%). The Ca concentration in the berries was enhanced by 14% and the berries appeared more healthy and firm. A top dressing of 50:50% calcium nitrate and potassium nitrate (Unika-Calcium) increased yield by 5% compared to one application of NPK at planting. This treatment contributed also to the highest fruit firmness, which indicates the importance of calcium for fruit firm-ness and shelf life. Nutrient uptake curves showed that strawberry require high amounts of potassium during fruit development. This may also explain the good per-formance of the CN/KN mixture applied as a top dressing. | |
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