Where Are Strawberry Seedlings Cheaper? Plus Planting Tips
The strawberry is a common fruit with a rather distinctive appearance, rich in certain nutrients, and is now mostly grown in greenhouses and sold on the market in winter. There are many strawberry varieties, with somewhat different flavors and sizes. If you want to grow strawberries, the first thing you need to do is buy strawberry seedlings, so where are strawberry seedlings cheaper? Plus planting tips.
1. Where are strawberry seedlings cheaper?
The price of strawberry seedlings is roughly 0.3-10 yuan per plant, and is affected by factors such as region, variety and size. As for the question of where strawberry seedlings are cheaper, there will be certain differences from place to place; the more strawberry seedlings you buy wholesale, the cheaper the price will be.
2. Key points for growing strawberry seedlings
1. Selection and preparation of the seedling-raising site
The seedling-raising site should be a plot with loose, fertile soil, convenient drainage and irrigation, and no previous strawberry cultivation; raising seedlings in mountainous areas far from strawberry production sites is most ideal, and plots that have previously been used to propagate strawberry seedlings must first undergo soil disinfection. After the seedling-raising plot is chosen, apply sufficient base fertilizer: 1500-2000 kg of decomposed barn manure per mu plus 50 kg of a compound fertilizer containing the three elements nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium, then plow, level the land and make beds, with the bed surface about 1.7 m wide; the bed furrows must drain freely, with no standing water after rain stops. When the beds are finished, spray the bed surface with 50% butachlor at 300 times dilution or Jinduo'er at 45 ml/mu.
2. Selection and planting of varieties and mother plants for propagation
Promote the planting of varieties such as Hongjia, Zhangji, Saga Qingxiang and virus-free Fengxiang. For propagation mother plants, use virus-free stock seedlings, or disease-free, vigorous mother plants reserved last year specifically for seedling propagation. If production plants are used as propagation mother plants, plants free of pests and diseases and with strong growth vigor must be selected. The best planting time for propagation mother plants is March to April, transplanted with soil; they can be planted in two rows on both sides of the bed or in a single row in the middle of the bed, with a plant spacing of 80 cm, generally 500-800 plants per mu.
3. Management after planting the mother plants
Fertilizer and water management. After the propagation mother plants are planted, water the roots twice in succession with a root-promoting agent at 1000 times dilution, at an interval of 7 days. Frequently apply dilute human manure to help the mother plants survive; afterward the soil must be kept moist to encourage the growth of runners. Apply dilute human manure or 0.3% urea once every 15 to 20 days; during the “plum rain” season, pay attention to drainage to prevent waterlogging, and in the high-temperature, dry season from July to August, measures must be taken against high temperature and drought to protect the seedlings. Plant management. After the mother plants survive planting, spray 50 ppm gibberellin (that is, 1 g gibberellin diluted in 20 kg water), spraying the leaves twice in succession at an interval of 7 days. Promptly remove flower stems and old leaves, and after runners emerge, arrange the runners evenly. Loosen the soil and weed in time; when pulling weeds, be careful not to disturb the small seedlings, and if rootless seedlings appear, promptly earth up and replant them.
4. Pest and disease control
The main pests and diseases during strawberry seedling raising are: aphids, red spider mites, cotton leafworm (Spodoptera litura), powdery mildew, anthracnose, and yellow (wilt) disease, etc. Aphids: control when they occur. Pesticide options include imidacloprid products such as 10% imidacloprid at 2500-3000 times dilution. Red spider mites: control at the early stage of occurrence. Pesticide options include pyridazinone and propargite products, such as 15% pyridaben at 1200 times dilution or 57% propargite at 2500 times dilution; adding 99% Luying at 300 times dilution during control gives better results. Cotton leafworm: control after damage begins in June. The best control method is using sex pheromone traps, one per mu; or 0.2% Fuda Jiawei at 1500 times dilution, or 52.2% Nongdile at 1000 times dilution, or 48% Lesiben at 800 times dilution, or 5.7% Baishude at 800 times dilution. Powdery mildew: the peak incidence period is May to June, and control should be carried out promptly at the early stage of the disease. Promptly clean up the affected parts of the plants, and spray with 300 g/L kresoxim-methyl · nicotinamide at 1000 times dilution, or 50% Cuibei at 3000 times dilution, or 99.1% Luying at 300 times dilution mixed with Yefu at 1500 times dilution, or 5% myclobutanil at 1500 times dilution, or 40% Fuxing at 4000 times dilution. Anthracnose: May to June is the period when plants become infected, and August to September is the peak incidence period.