What are the management measures for strawberry propagation fields?
1. Strengthen fertilizer and water management. After planting, water thoroughly to settle the roots, watering 2-3 times consecutively to keep the soil moist and help the plants survive. After the plants are established, apply 5 kg of urea per mu to promote seedling growth. When they enter the vigorous growth period (the runner production stage), apply 1-2 rounds of NPK compound fertilizer, with each application controlled at 5-8 kg per mu. Never apply high-nitrogen fertilizer.
2. Remove flower clusters, old leaves and diseased leaves. After the strawberry plants are planted, regularly remove the flower buds and clusters from the mother plants so that nutrients are concentrated, promoting vegetative growth of the mother plants and the production of runners. Also regularly remove old leaves and diseased leaves to improve air circulation and light penetration, promoting healthy growth of the mother plants and daughter plants.
3. Runner management. After the mother plants are planted, inspect the field regularly and keep the runners at a certain spacing. When runners are produced in large numbers, pull apart those that are close to each other so they are evenly distributed, preventing them from crossing or overlapping. At the same time, to help the adventitious roots that form at the runner nodes to penetrate the soil in time, press the runner node segments with soil where the adventitious roots have formed.
4. Cultivation and weeding. Strawberries are quite sensitive to herbicides, so herbicides must be used with caution. In general, manual weeding is safe. From mother plant planting until runner production, because of frequent irrigation, the soil tends to become compacted, so shallow cultivation and loosening of the soil should be carried out to help the small seedlings take root. During the runner production stage, which coincides with the rainy season and rampant weed growth, weeds must be pulled frequently.
5. Pest and disease control
The main common pests of strawberry propagation plants are white grubs, aphids, and tobacco cutworms. The main diseases are snake-eye disease (leaf scorch) and anthracnose.
White grubs: drench with 90% trichlorfon crystalline powder at 1000 times dilution or 50% phoxim emulsifiable concentrate at 1000 times dilution to kill them.
Aphids and tobacco cutworms: spray with 10% imidacloprid at 1000-1500 times dilution or 1.8% abamectin emulsifiable concentrate at 3000 times dilution.
Anthracnose and snake-eye disease: use 70% thiophanate-methyl wettable powder at 1000 times dilution or 75% chlorothalonil wettable powder at 800 times dilution alternately, spraying once every 5-7 days, for 3-4 applications.