What to Do About Poor Strawberry Coloration? Cause Analysis and Solutions
When strawberries are fully ripe, their exterior is bright red, making people want to take a bite right away. But many people find that most of the strawberries they grow have a mix of green and red, looking as if they are not ripe. So what causes poor strawberry coloration, and are there any solutions? Let's take a look together with QinNong Web.
1. Lack of nutrients
During the fruit expansion stage, the quality of coloration is closely tied to nutrition. When too much nitrogen fertilizer is applied during fertilization and potassium fertilizer and boron fertilizer are lacking, the fruit will color poorly.
Solution: Applying more nitrogen fertilizer before strawberries grow can promote plant growth and development, but by the fruiting stage the demand for nitrogen fertilizer is not great. At this point, potassium fertilizer and boron fertilizer need to be applied. In addition, elements such as calcium also promote strawberry coloration, so fertilization should be balanced. Applying organic fertilizer is recommended.
2. Temperature and light
Strawberry coloration mainly involves the synthesis of a substance called anthocyanin, which forms in an environment of 20-25 degrees. If the temperature is too high or too low, its formation will be affected, resulting in poor coloration. In addition, when light is insufficient, the fruit's sugar accumulation is not enough, and physiological white fruit will appear. Eventually the fruit turns pale yellow-white, and its flavor is rather mild. The fruit is soft and prone to rotting, and is not easy to store.
Solution: Strictly control temperature and light conditions. During the fruiting stage, keep it at 20-25 degrees during the day and 15-20 degrees at night, and maintain 12-15 hours of light each day. Prune stems and leaves to enhance the plant's ventilation and light penetration.
3. Fruit in long-term contact with the ground
Because strawberry plants are relatively short and their stems creep along the ground, most fruits come into contact with the ground when they set fruit. This also produces the phenomenon of part of the fruit being red and part being green, because the part in contact with the ground cannot receive light.
Solution: During the color-turning stage, regularly turn the fruits over so that the side close to the ground can also receive sunlight. Alternatively, when planting, raise the planting height of the plants, which can avoid this problem.
4. Excessive use of hormones or swelling agents
To bring fruit to market earlier and increase yield, some fruit growers often use hormones or swelling agents during the fruit expansion stage to promote rapid fruit expansion. The fruit does indeed become very large, but the formation of its anthocyanin takes time, so the fruit is large but colors poorly.
Solution: Use hormones and swelling agents as little as possible or not at all. These things are somewhat harmful to the human body. Temperature and light conditions should be reasonably controlled and fertilization should be scientific, so that the fruit is both large and sweet.
The above are the causes of and solutions for poor strawberry coloration brought to you by QinNong Web. In addition, when planting, pay attention to planting density. If the density is too high, poor ventilation between plants will also lead to poor coloration and the formation of misshapen fruit. For more agricultural knowledge, please stay tuned to QinNong Web.