Growers Playing Vital Role In Organic Strawberry Study

Photo by Michael Schwieterman, UF/IFAS

Photo by Michael Schwieterman, UF/IFAS

After the first year of a University of Florida study to try to develop new organic strawberry production systems, growers are playing a critical role in setting priorities for the research project’s future.
The study stemmed from several issues strawberry growers face. Rising costs of production and increased imports of strawberries threaten the sustainability of the Florida strawberry industry. Demand for organic strawberries is growing and brings a price premium for growers who can master the art and science of organic strawberry production.

Organic and conventional growers assessed parts of the first year of research, said Mickie Swisher, associate professor of sustainable agriculture in UF’s Department of Family, Youth and Community Sciences and a member of the Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (IFAS).
Two assessments were done at the UF/IFAS Plant Science Research and Education Unit in Citra, and at a farm in Plant City. The third assessment relied on posters with pictures and data and was collected by the Florida Certified Organic Growers and Consumers Inc. (FOG) at the Southern Sustainable Agriculture Working Group conference in Mobile, AL.

Advertisement

UF researchers are working with scientists from North Carolina A&T, FOG and Driscoll Strawberry Associates Inc. They’re trying to help growers who want to gain a foothold in the organic market, Swisher said.
The research teams, funded by a grant from the Walmart Foundation and administered by the University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture Center for Agricultural and Rural Sustainability, are trying to develop new organic strawberry production systems.
Rather than focusing on isolated problems, such as weed management, the UF teams worked with growers and industry leaders to develop solutions to growers’ most critical needs.

The result is a research project that combines cultivar selection, soil and weed management, pest management, and evaluation of consumer preferences, Swisher said. Two types of systems were tested, one in open fields and one in a high tunnel. This approach allows researchers to answer the kinds of questions that organic and conventional growers commonly face about how a change in one component of a farming system will affect other elements.

Top Articles
25 Years of Project GREEEN’s Growth in Controlled Environment Agriculture

Growers spent up to an hour making observations in field assessments. They started by considering how well the four cover crops that were tested suppressed weeds. Then they examined how eight strawberry cultivars performed in the field, focusing on plant vigor, fruit production, and disease and pest resistance, Swisher said. These advisers pooled their observations to make four recommendations for future research priorities to the research team.
One priority will be to use cover crops to suppress weeds and nematodes and improve soil health, but the practice can be costly because of the added cost of buying and planting seed for the cover crop. Growers suggested trying some cover crops, like pearl millet, that would give the grower a chance to harvest and sell the seed or grain to offset the cost.

Growers also want to know more about the effects of cover crops on the soil. A key priority was to know how much of the strawberry’s fertilizer requirements can be met by nutrients released when the cover crops are plowed in and decayed.
They also want to know more about the interactions between cover crops, strawberry cultivars and disease and insect and mite pests. They pointed out that the incidence of diseases and pests varied between the open field and high-tunnel systems, opening up more questions about the differences in the two systems.

In addition, growers have asked the researchers to develop economic models of the costs of production, yield, and net return for each combination of cover crop and strawberry cultivar.
Answering the new questions raised by growers is essential to developing sustainable and organic strawberry production systems. Carlene Chase, the research team’s leader, has indicated that the team is already planning next year’s research program, incorporating all of these critical recommendations.

0

Leave a Reply

Avatar for Matt Matt says:

It would be very interesting to read some best practices when the are done with the studies. I grow about an acre of day neutrals in Wisconsin. We use the raised plasticulture system. We need to hand weed the holes until the plant has three crowns, then the holes are shaded and prevent most weeds. We have tried planting Dutch white clover for he row middles instead of hay mulch. The system requires a mower small enough to make it down the row. Mowing is required until the clover is established, then it suppresses weeds quite well. If the rows are kept a second year then weeds control is almost 100 percent.

We usually take a spring harvest from the 2nd year day neutrals and the moldboard plow them under. We use Biotelo so the plastic mulch can be plowed under. Once plowed under in early to mid July a fall sweet corn crop is planted. No nitrogen is required due to the clover fixing over 100lbs/acre.

We do use potassium nitrate in the preceding year to feed the berries via drip. There is enough residual potassium to not need to apply any to the sweet corn crop. The sweet corn crop is the followed in the fall with a rye and vetch mixture. This will fix over 100lbs/acre of nitrogen if left to grow until late may. This is then moldboard plowed in and watermelon planted.

Chicken litter makes a good addition at the end of the watermelons. Austrian peas or another cover crop that will winter kill can then be planted to capture and excess nitrogen. in the spring this will again be moldboard. Plowed and planted back to strawberries in a plasticulture system. This has worked well for us and cycles nutrients well.

We are not 100% organic, but we are close enough. I have needed fungicides in the plasticulture system with raised beds. We use Pyganic to take care of most of our insect problems. If bad berries are culled by pickers it really helps with molds with attract insects.

Hopefully that is helpful to someone else.

Avatar for Dixie Norwood Dixie Norwood says:

Very helpful! Thank you for sharing!

Advertisement