How to Grow Pineberries: A Detailed Guide to Growing Conditions and Techniques

Pineberry, also commonly known as white strawberry, is a fruit with high nutritional value. It is a hybrid variety of strawberry. After this plant bears fruit, the fruit is mostly white with red spots on the surface, and it looks especially beautiful against the green leaves. So how do you grow pineberries? What are its growing conditions and techniques?

I. Growing Conditions for Pineberry

Pineberry mostly grows in southern regions, and is most commonly seen in Hanzhong, southern Shaanxi.

1. Temperature: Pineberry prefers a cool and mild climate. The root growth temperature is 5-30°C, with an optimum of 15-22°C. The optimum temperature for stem and leaf growth is 20-30°C. Buds suffer frost damage at -15-10°C. During flower bud differentiation, the temperature must be kept at 5-15°C, and during the flowering and fruiting period, 4-40°C. When overwintering through summer, if the temperature is above 30°C and sunlight is strong, shade measures are needed.

2. Light: Pineberry is a light-loving plant, but it also has fairly strong shade tolerance. Under strong light, the plants are short and sturdy, the fruits are small, deep in color, and of good quality. Under moderate light, the fruits are large, pale in color, low in sugar, and the harvest period is longer. Too little light is unfavorable for pineberry growth.

3. Water: The pineberry root system is shallow and transpiration is high, so it has strict water requirements, but the water requirements differ slightly at different growth stages. In early spring and during flowering, the water requirement is no less than 70% of the soil's maximum water-holding capacity; during fruit growth and ripening, it needs more than 80%; after harvest, when runners are produced and new adventitious roots form, the soil moisture content also needs to be no less than 70%; autumn is the period when the plant accumulates nutrients and flower buds form, and soil moisture must also be no less than 60%. Pineberry is not tolerant of waterlogging and requires soil with good permeability; pay attention to field drainage during the rainy season.

4. Soil: Pineberry is best grown in fertile, loose, neutral or slightly acidic loam soil. Overly heavy clay soil is not suitable for cultivation. For sandy soil, apply more farmyard manure and irrigate frequently; pineberry can also be grown.

II. How to Grow Pineberry? What Are the Growing Techniques?

“Pineberry” needs to be cultivated in a glass greenhouse. When the fruit turns from green to white and the small seeds on the surface become deep red, it means it is already ripe and ready to eat. It can be grown in front of and behind houses, indoors, on balconies, and other places. It can be eaten fresh and also beautify the environment. Its planting method can refer to open-field cultivation methods.

1. Field Plot Selection

Choose a field plot that has not grown strawberries for many years as the production field for greenhouse pineberry.

2. Base Fertilizer

Apply sufficient organic base fertilizer to the field. About one month before planting, generally apply 1500-2000 kg of fully decomposed organic fertilizer per 667 sq m as base fertilizer, and plow and harrow multiple times.

3. Bed Making

About 10 days before planting, choose sunny weather and, when the soil has good workability, make the beds. Before building them, additionally apply 50 kg of imported ternary compound fertilizer and 50 kg of superphosphate as surface fertilizer, and apply 10 kg of phoxim granules per 667 sq m to control underground pests such as white grubs. The beds run north-south (parallel to the greenhouse direction). Each greenhouse has 7 beds. The middle 5 beds each have a surface width of 40-45 cm, with 2 rows planted per bed; the 2 side beds each have a surface width of 15-20 cm, with 1 row planted per bed. The height of each ridge is 30-35 cm, and the depth of the bed furrow is about 30-35 cm.

4. Digging Up Seedlings

One day before digging up the seedlings, water the nursery thoroughly once to help keep the soil ball intact and minimize root damage, and plant in separate greenhouses according to seedling size. If nutrient-pot seedlings are used, remove the plastic pots when planting, which gives a higher survival rate.

5. Planting Density

For greenhouse cultivation, the plant spacing is about 20 cm, with 1800-2000 plants per greenhouse and 6000-7000 plants per 667 sq m.

After planting, water immediately to stabilize the roots. They survive in about 10 days. Along with weeding, loosen the soil between the plants, frequently remove dead, old, and diseased leaves, and promptly replant missing seedlings.

6. Laying Black Plastic Mulch

Laying black plastic mulch can maintain soil moisture, suppress weed growth, and also lower the air temperature inside the greenhouse, isolate strawberry fruits from contact with the soil to reduce disease, and keep the fruits brightly colored, clean, and hygienic. The black mulch is generally laid in mid-to-late October, when the pineberries have basically all established, and the work of weeding, loosening the soil, earthing up, and replanting missing seedlings has initially been completed. The laying method is to cover the black mulch over the plants on the bed surface, feel for the seedling positions, tear a small hole in the mulch, and then carefully pull out the leaves. Be sure to expose the central leaves of the seedlings, and press the surrounding old leaves on the mulch over the edges of the holes so they lie close to the ground.

7. Temperature and Humidity Regulation

Pineberry has different temperature requirements at each stage of growth and development, and these should be met as much as possible after the greenhouse is warmed. Because greenhouse-cultivated pineberry flowers and fruits continuously and in overlapping cycles, after bud emergence, generally maintain 24°C-28°C during the day and 6°C-8°C at night. Above 30°C or below 5°C is unfavorable for pineberry flowering and fruiting. The air humidity inside the greenhouse is very high, especially from early morning to midday or in rainy weather, when relative humidity can reach 95-100%, which hinders pollination, easily breeds diseases, and causes severe gray mold fruit rot. Therefore, in addition to covering the beds with black mulch, straw should also be spread at the bottom of the furrows to block water. After planting, water immediately to stabilize the roots.

8. Plant Management

After greenhouse pineberry is kept warm, plant growth accelerates and a large number of tillers and runners sprout, which should be removed promptly. This can increase the leaf area of the main stem, promote timely sprouting of the terminal flower buds and the growth of strong terminal inflorescences, leading to early flowering and good fruiting. Generally, a strawberry plant should retain at most 1-2 relatively strong tillers. Promptly remove old, declining, and diseased leaves.

9. Topdressing

Greenhouse pineberry is generally topdressed 2-3 times from after planting and establishment until before and after covering with black mulch. For each greenhouse (180 sq m), dissolve 1-1.5 kg of urea in about 500 kg of water and pour it on once. Later topdressing is mostly foliar feeding according to seedling vigor, spraying 20 kg of 0.5% concentration urea per 667 sq m.

The selling price of pineberry is quite high. According to foreign media reports, pineberry has begun to be sold in large quantities in the United Kingdom. This new type of fruit sells for 2.99 pounds per box (125 grams), equivalent to about 31 yuan, which means 1 jin can sell for 120 yuan. At present, there are not many pineberry growers in China, so it still has fairly good market prospects.