Strawberry Cultivation: Experience Sharing on Soil Testing and Formula Fertilization

1. Fertilizer requirements: Strawberry growth requires nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium, and various trace elements such as boron, magnesium, zinc, iron, and calcium. Early growth requires phosphorus, the early-to-mid stage requires large amounts of nitrogen, and the entire growth period requires potassium. With severe nitrogen deficiency, the leaves turn yellow, become partially scorched, and are slightly smaller than normal leaves. When phosphorus deficiency worsens, the upper leaves show purplish-red spots, and older leaves also show this characteristic; the flowers and fruits on the plant are smaller than those of a normal plant. Potassium deficiency symptoms often occur on newly matured upper leaves, with black, brown, and dried areas appearing at the leaf margins, followed by scorching; older leaves are severely affected, and the fruits are light in color and poor in taste.

2. Fertilization techniques: At a medium fertility level, the fertilizer application rate per mu throughout the entire growth period is 3000-3500 kg of organic fertilizer (or 450-500 kg of commercial organic fertilizer), 14-16 kg of nitrogen fertilizer, 6-8 kg of phosphorus fertilizer, and 8-10 kg of potassium fertilizer. Organic fertilizer is applied as base fertilizer; nitrogen and potassium are divided into base fertilizer and two topdressings; phosphorus fertilizer is all applied as base fertilizer; chemical fertilizers and farmyard manure (or commercial organic fertilizer) are applied mixed together.

Base fertilizer: The base fertilizer is mainly organic fertilizer, combined with an appropriate amount of chemical fertilizer. Generally, per mu, apply 3000-3500 kg of farmyard manure or 450-500 kg of commercial organic fertilizer, 5-6 kg of urea, 15-20 kg of diammonium phosphate, and 5-6 kg of potassium sulfate. Topdressing: Topdressing at the flowering stage: generally apply 9-10 kg of urea and 4-6 kg of potassium sulfate per mu. Topdressing at the berry enlargement stage: generally apply 11-13 kg of urea and 7-8 kg of potassium sulfate per mu. Foliar topdressing: Spray 0.3% urea or 0.3% monopotassium phosphate 3-4 times or 0.3% borax on the leaves before and after the flowering stage, which can increase the fruit-setting rate and increase single fruit weight. Spraying 0.2% calcium sulfate plus 0.05% manganese sulfate (volume 1:1) at the initial flowering stage and full flowering stage can increase yield and fruit storage performance.