How to grow strawberries in a greenhouse? Choosing the right variety is the first step
AbstractVarieties: Choose large-fruited varieties with a short dormancy period. Cultivating strong seedlings: Choose a seedling bed or plastic pot with good water retention and air permeability. Land preparation and planting: Keep row spacing and plant spacing at about 20-25cm, with about 7000 plants per mu. Field management: Do a good job of temperature control, humidity control, watering, fertilizing, plant adjustment, artificial pollination, pest and disease control, hormone spraying, supplemental lighting and heating, and other work.
1. Variety selection
Try to choose large-fruited varieties with a short dormancy period.
2. Cultivating strong seedlings
(1) You should choose strong seedlings that are in the growing period on the strawberry runners.
(2) From early to mid-August, transplant the strawberries into open-field seedling beds or plastic pots. It is best to use seedling beds or plastic pots with good water retention and air permeability, and begin raising the seedlings.
(3) Strawberries like sunlight but fear high temperatures. After transplanting, cover them with a layer of shade netting to cool them down.
(4) After the plants have established, control fertilizer and water and manage them strictly. In September, the shade netting should be removed in time to prevent excessive growth of the root crown.
3. Land preparation and planting
(1) First deep-plow the soil in the greenhouse, and at the same time plow in fertilizer, applying 3000-4000kg/mu of fully decomposed barnyard manure and 50-60kg of compound fertilizer as base fertilizer.
(2) Then make beds, with a depth of about 25-30cm. Keep the width and spacing of beds and furrows at about 1m. For example, to make 6 beds, a strawberry planting greenhouse needs a standard width of 6m.
(3) After making the beds, around mid-to-late September, cover the bed surface with a layer of plastic film, punch holes in the film, and plant after that.
(4) When planting, plant 2 rows per bed, with row spacing and plant spacing of 25cm×20cm, and about 7000 plants/mu.
(5) When planting, note that the inflorescences should face the furrow, and the planting depth should be standard with the root crown level with the soil surface. The heart of the seedling must not be buried in the soil.
4. Field management
(1) Temperature control
The suitable growing temperature for strawberries is 25-30°C during the day and above 12°C at night in the early planting stage, and 20-23°C during the day and above 5°C at night during the fruiting stage.
In mid-October, cover with film to keep warm. Double-layer film covering is best, to control temperature for plant growth and promote development.
(2) Humidity control
Relative humidity should be maintained at about 50%, which is beneficial to strawberry growth.
(3) Watering
During the fruit expansion period, the root crown grows rapidly and the strawberry's water requirement increases. At this time, drip irrigation can be used to water the strawberries. It is enough for the soil layer 7-8cm above the surface to appear moist.
(4) Topdressing
When topdressing, it is necessary to grasp the principle of applying thin fertilizer frequently, and do not apply fertilizer all at once. After the plants have established following planting, a 0.5% compound fertilizer solution can be applied.
Topdress again about 4 weeks after harvest. A mixed application of 0.2% potassium dihydrogen phosphate and 0.4% urea solution can be used, and foliar topdressing should be adopted according to actual conditions.
(5) Plant adjustment
During the strawberry growing period, dead leaves, diseased leaves, old runners, and residual buds should be removed in time to avoid the loss of unnecessary nutrients. Each strawberry plant should also retain 2-3 well-growing tillers, and excess tillers and low-position small flowers should be removed in time.
(6) Artificial pollination
The flowering period of strawberries is around 8-9 a.m. At this time, a writing brush can be used to smear the entire flower for pollination. The pollination site is best chosen inside the greenhouse, which can increase the fruit-setting rate and good-fruit rate of strawberries. The pollination frequency is once a day.
(7) Pest and disease control
Strawberries are extremely prone to pest and disease damage in low-temperature and rainy weather. When gray mold occurs, a 1000-1500 times dilution spray of 50% procymidone wettable powder can be used for control.
When powdery mildew occurs, a 3000-4000 times dilution of 20% triadimefon emulsifiable concentrate can be used for control. At the same time, attention should also be paid to controlling aphids.
(8) Hormone spraying
During the first heart-leaf growth stage and the flowering stage of strawberries, spray a 10×10-6 gibberellin solution separately, which can increase yield and preserve quality.
(9) Supplemental lighting and heating
In the cold winter season, supplemental lighting is needed for strawberries. Set up 60-watt light bulbs in the small shed for heating, placing one every 1.5m. This can help keep the minimum temperature in the shed at about 5°C and allow harvest about 4 weeks earlier.