Strawberry Cultivation Techniques and Daily Management Methods Explained in Detail

Strawberries are widely popular because of their bright appearance and pleasant aroma. Every year in February and March, when strawberries ripen, the strawberries packed in small baskets or small crates along the roadside quickly sell out, and some people go directly to strawberry farms to pick them themselves. The returns from growing strawberries are also quite considerable.

Strawberry Cultivation Techniques and Daily Management Methods

1. Choose suitable varieties or mix different varieties: Choose varieties such as Fengxiang and Mingbao that produce many flowers under low-temperature conditions, have a large amount of pollen, and bear large, uniform fruit with good coloration, mild acidity, and few deformed fruits. Varieties such as Qiuxiang, Baojiao Zaosheng, and Quanmingxing have less pollen and produce more deformed fruits, so varieties such as Chunxiang and Dana should be planted together as pollinizer plants to facilitate pollination and fertilization, reduce deformed fruits, and increase the proportion of large fruits.

2. Choose disease-free strong seedlings: Disease-free strong seedlings have well-developed root systems and strong disease resistance, and the strawberries they produce are large, high-yielding, and of excellent quality.

3. Apply sufficient high-quality base fertilizer: Increasing the application of high-quality decomposed farmyard manure can provide ample nutrients for strawberry growth, flower bud differentiation, flowering and fruit setting, and fruit development, enlarge the fruit size, and improve the sugar content and coloration of the fruit. Apply 2000 kg of decomposed chicken manure per mu as base fertilizer, combining furrow application with broadcast application.

4. Practice crop rotation and avoid continuous cropping: Practicing crop rotation can improve the disease resistance of strawberries and reduce the number of deformed fruits and diseased or pest-damaged fruits. The open space between greenhouses can be fully used for cyclical rotation.

5. Increase light exposure: Insufficient light from 2 weeks before flowering to the flowering period will affect pollination and fertilization and produce deformed fruits. Insufficient light during the fruit coloration period will lead to bland fruit and poor color. On the premise of ensuring the temperature inside the greenhouse, the straw mats used as covers should be removed as early as possible and put back as late as possible. Hang reflective screens on the north side inside the greenhouse to use reflected light to increase illumination. On cloudy or rainy days or snowy days, incandescent lamps can be used for supplemental lighting.

6. Ridge cultivation and plastic film mulching: Ridge cultivation can reduce contact between the fruit and dripping water from the greenhouse film, enhance sunlight exposure to the fruit, reduce the occurrence of gray mold, and promote fruit coloration. Plastic film mulching can raise soil temperature, lower air humidity, prevent the fruit from directly contacting the soil, and help keep the fruit surface clean.

7. Strictly control temperature: The suitable greenhouse temperature is 22-25℃ during the day and 8-10℃ at night during the flowering period, and 20-24℃ during the day and 6-10℃ at night during the fruit enlargement period. If the temperature inside the greenhouse is too high, it will shorten the fruit development period and make the fruit smaller.

8. Water and fertilize appropriately: Water appropriately during the flowering and fruiting period, and drip irrigation is preferable. Insufficient water during the flowering period will lead to poor pollination and fertilization and produce deformed fruits. Insufficient water during the fruit enlargement period will affect fruit enlargement. During the flowering and fruiting period, continuously spray a 0.3% potassium dihydrogen phosphate solution 3-4 times.

9. Assisted pollination: Poor pollination and fertilization is the root cause of deformed fruits, and using bees for assisted pollination can effectively reduce the occurrence of deformed fruits. Generally, during the flowering period, place 1 box of bees in each greenhouse for pollination.

10. Timely prevention and control of pests and diseases: Spraying pesticides during the strawberry flowering period can easily induce deformed fruits. If pests and diseases occur during the flowering period, spray pesticides during the period with fewer flowers, move the beehives out of the greenhouse before spraying, and move them back into the greenhouse 1 week after application.

The Growing Environment of Strawberries

1. Temperature: Strawberries prefer a warm and cool climate. The root growth temperature of strawberries is 5-30℃, with an optimum of 15-22℃; the optimum temperature for stem and leaf growth is 20-30℃; buds suffer freezing damage at -15--10℃; the temperature during flower bud differentiation must be kept at 5-15℃; and during the flowering and fruiting period it is 4-40℃. When strawberries overwinter in summer, if the temperature is higher than 30℃ and the sunlight is strong, shading measures need to be taken.

2. Light: Strawberries are light-loving plants, but they also have relatively strong shade tolerance. Under strong light, the plants are short and sturdy, the fruits are small, the color is deep, and the quality is good. Under moderate light, the fruits are large, the color is light, the sugar content is low, and the harvest period is longer. Too weak light is unfavorable for strawberry growth.

3. Water: Strawberry roots are shallowly distributed and transpiration is high, so strawberries have strict water requirements, but they differ slightly among different growth stages. In early spring and the flowering period, strawberries need a soil moisture level no lower than 70% of the maximum water-holding capacity of the soil; during fruit growth and maturity, the demand is greatest, reaching more than 80%; after harvest, when runners are produced and new adventitious roots form, the soil water content also needs to be no lower than 70%; autumn is the period when the plants accumulate nutrients and form flower buds, and soil moisture must also be no lower than 60%. Strawberries are not tolerant of waterlogging, require good soil permeability, and attention should be paid to field drainage during the rainy season.

4. Soil: Strawberries are suitable for growing in fertile, loose neutral or slightly acidic loam soil. Excessively heavy clay soil is not suitable for cultivation. In sandy soil, applying more barnyard manure and watering frequently can also allow strawberries to be grown.

Methods for Collecting Strawberry Seeds

When strawberries are harvested from May to June, select well-developed, fully mature fruits for seed collection. Peel off the fruit skin, put it into water, wash away the pulp, remove it and let it dry. Alternatively, dry the peeled fruit skin directly, then rub it into pieces, and the fruit skin and seeds can be separated.

Storing Strawberries

1. Store in a ventilated place

Strawberries contain a large amount of water, and their skin is very thin, so they rot with just a gentle touch. Therefore, to store strawberries well, they must be handled carefully and placed gently. When brought home, they should be placed in a ventilated place, which allows them to be stored for one to two days.

2. Store in the refrigerator

If you want to store strawberries well, you can also put them in the refrigerator. First put the strawberries into a freshness-retaining bag and tie the bag opening tightly, which can prevent the strawberries from losing moisture. The temperature in the refrigerator should be kept between 0-3 degrees, and it must not fluctuate between high and low. In this way, they can be stored for three to six days.

3. Seal with plastic wrap

Strawberries that cannot be eaten can be sealed with plastic wrap, which can keep the strawberries from changing color or rotting within one day, but remember that the plastic wrap must be sealed well with no gaps.

4. Drain and refrigerate

Strawberries rot more easily after touching water, so to store strawberries well, it is best to wash only as many as you will eat and put the rest in the refrigerator, which allows them to be stored a little longer.

In addition to the effort required for planting, picking, and selling strawberries, storage is also a matter worth paying attention to. The skin of strawberries is very fragile. Once mature strawberries are touched during picking, the skin is easily damaged, which is why merchants are unwilling to let customers choose for themselves when buying strawberries.