Study Finds Way to Big Water Savings for Strawberry Growers

New research from the University of Florida shows that strawberry growers can save as much as 67% — or up to half a million gallons of water per acre per season by alternating sprinkler cycles on and off — and get the same yield.

Normally, growers get their bare-root transplants from places such as Canada and northern California and plant them in Florida’s strawberry heartland — Hillsborough, Polk, and Manatee counties.  After being shipped to Florida — with no soil around the roots — the plants initially need extra care, particularly daytime sprinkler irrigation. That’s because their damaged roots cannot absorb enough water to support the plants’ survival and growth. It typically takes 10 to 14 days of daytime sprinkler irrigation for bare-root transplants to settle in the field.

Establishment of strawberry transplants typically requires 355,680 to 456,000 gallons of water per acre over 10 days, or more than 600,000 gallons per acre with the extended use of sprinklers, says Shinsuke Agehara, a UF/IFAS Associate Professor of horticultural sciences and lead investigator of the new study.

“This is a significant amount, especially considering the establishment period lasts only up to two weeks, and there are more than 14,000 acres of strawberry production in Florida,” says Agehara. “Using an intermittent sprinkler program can reduce water use during the establishment period by 50% to 67%.”

Results surprised scientists because they expected that alternating sprinkler cycles on and off would increase heat stress on the strawberry plants and negatively impact establishment and yield. But they saw no yield reduction.

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Scientists also found that for some strawberry varieties, this method can increase yield without negatively affecting fruit quality. That includes ‘Florida Brilliance,’ which saw a 27% increase in yield in one season, using intermittent irrigation.

“Our next step is to set up an on-farm trial, so growers can see the water savings and the impact of intermittent irrigation for themselves,” Agehara adds.

For more, continue reading at blogs.ifas.ufl.edu.