How are strawberry seedlings cultivated? Latest technical method tutorial
The strawberry is a perennial herbaceous plant of the genus Fragaria in the rose family (Rosaceae). Its propagation methods fall into two types: sexual reproduction and asexual reproduction. To avoid segregation occurring in sexual reproduction and thereby affecting yield and quality, asexual reproduction, that is, propagation by runners, is generally used in production. Below let us take a look together at strawberry seedling cultivation techniques!
Preparing the mother plants
After determining the strawberry variety to propagate, select runner seedlings that grow vigorously and are free of pests and diseases as the mother plants for propagation. After the transplanting of the fruit-harvesting field is completed, heel in the mother plants in the open field to overwinter. The heel-in density should be 20 cm × 20 cm, or 23 cm × 23 cm, preferably 10,000 plants per mu. The number of mother plants to be planted is decided according to the number of seedlings to be raised the following year; generally, 400 mother plants in the second year can cultivate 1 mu of strawberry seedlings, and by autumn can produce 40,000 to 60,000 runner seedlings to supply seedlings for 8 mu of field.
Preparing the nursery land
For the nursery, choose a plot with fertile soil that is not prone to hardening and is convenient for drainage and irrigation. A young orchard with irrigation facilities used as a seedling-collecting nursery is not only conducive to making full use of the land but also allows the shade of the fruit trees to be used to reduce the impact of high summer temperatures. After the nursery is selected, broadcast 30 dan of fully decomposed barnyard manure per mu, and in spring, seize fine weather to plow and turn the soil and make beds 3 m wide. Before planting, apply 2.5 to 3 kg of urea, 3.5 to 4 kg of potassium chloride, and 5 kg of superphosphate per mu in mixed hole application, and mix the fertilizer thoroughly with the soil.
⟦NL>Planting time
After the spring temperature stabilizes above 15°C, planting can be carried out at the appropriate time, generally in mid-to-late April, striving to finish planting by the end of April. When planting, set 1 row on each side of the 3 m wide bed, with a plant spacing of 80 cm, planting more than 400 plants per mu. Mother plants must be planted at an appropriate depth, and strict care must be taken to prevent soil clods from burying the heart leaves and to prevent the rhizome from being exposed and suffering drought. At the same time, the curved protruding side of the rhizome should face the inner side of the bed, because the protruding side is the part that produces runners, which is beneficial to the growth and arrangement of the runners.
Nursery management
Immediately after the mother plants are planted, water thoroughly to settle the roots, and thereafter water once a day according to weather conditions for 4 to 6 days. After they survive, check the seedlings and fill in gaps promptly, and promptly remedy mother plants that were planted too deep or too shallow. If high temperature and drought occur during the strawberry seedling-raising period, special attention must be paid to water management, using multiple rounds of furrow irrigation to keep the soil moist at all times. From planting until the strawberry runners cover the whole field takes more than 5 months, and the large empty areas in the seedling-collecting nursery must be promptly filled with seedlings. In the season when weeds flourish in summer and autumn, and because frequent watering easily hardens the soil, which is unfavorable for the runner seedlings to take root, cultivation and weeding should be carried out to keep the bed surface loose and free of weeds. In addition, in early spring the flower clusters of the mother plants should be removed promptly, and after the runners emerge they should also be regularly arranged so that the runners are evenly distributed and do not overlap each other, supplemented by artificial pressing down, to ensure uniform and strong seedlings. During the strawberry seedling-raising period, topdressing is generally not needed; if the base fertilizer is insufficient, the plants grow thin and weak, the leaves turn yellow, and few runners emerge, then in combination with irrigation, 3 to 5 dan of human and animal manure and urine per mu, diluted with 1 dan of water, can be splashed on 1 to 2 times.
Pest and disease control
From planting until the early growth stage, strawberries may be damaged by cutworms or white grubs. Check frequently in the early morning; if notched leaves and dead seedlings are found, dig around the plants to find and destroy them, or apply 2.5 kg of 1.5% organophosphorus mixed powder per mu mixed with 15 to 20 kg of fine soil. During the growth period, 2000-fold omethoate or 1000- to 1500-fold dichlorvos emulsifiable concentrate can be used to control damage by aphids. The main diseases of strawberries are gray mold and root rot; regularly remove old leaves, dead leaves, and diseased leaves to reduce the breeding of pathogens. For chemical control, 1000- to 15000-fold 50% thiophanate-methyl solution or an equal-amount 250-fold Bordeaux mixture can be sprayed 1 to 2 times.