How Do Strawberries Reproduce? A Detailed Explanation of Common Propagation Methods
Strawberry is a fruit that we all rather enjoy eating, and it has a fairly wide planting area in our country. However, growing strawberries is not so easy; besides careful management after planting, you also need to do a good job with strawberry propagation. Many friends fail at propagation, which leads to seriously insufficient yields, or even losing everything. So how should strawberries be propagated? Below, the editor brings you the strawberry propagation methods. Let's take a look!
1. Seed propagation
Around mid-May, after the strawberry fruits mature, pick strawberry fruits from the plants that are uniform in size, smooth and glossy on the surface, and free of pests and diseases. Then remove the fruit skin, squeeze out the juice, dry it well, and then take out the seeds. Then soak the seeds to promote germination and disinfect them. After soaking for about 10 hours, sow them into nutrient soil prepared according to the growth habits of strawberries. After covering with fine soil and adding plastic film, under normal management they will germinate and emerge in about 8-11 days. Seed propagation is the most traditional propagation method for strawberries, but because it is rather troublesome and takes a long time, it is used relatively rarely.
2. Runner propagation
The runner propagation method mainly uses the runners that strawberries grow each year as the propagating parent material. These runners have fairly strong growth ability; with just a little management they can grow into independent individual plants. Observe the growth of the mother plant. When about 3 runners have grown, pinch off the tips in time to avoid consuming too much nutrition and to promote the growth of new stems. Then repeat the operation. Under normal circumstances, new seedlings can grow in 1-2 years. Moreover, the new seedlings grow very fast and can basically flower and bear fruit in the same year. This method propagates quickly and can also minimize planting costs as much as possible.
3. Rhizome propagation
Rhizome propagation uses the new stems of the mother plant for propagation. After harvesting the fruit each year, do a good job with water and fertilizer management and strengthen intertillage and weeding. Promote the growth of the mother plant and increase the growth speed of new stems. When you find that new buds have grown and the mother plant has grown new roots, dig out the old roots of the mother plant in time, and cut off the root systems that are weak in growth, affected by pests or diseases, or useless. Then separate about 6-7 good leaves on the plant, and directly plant the new seedlings growing on both sides of the new stems. Rhizome propagation is relatively simple, and it is not so troublesome to carry out, and the survival rate is also relatively high. Therefore, it is currently a commonly used propagation method for strawberries.
4. In vitro propagation
Because strawberry plants relatively easily produce adventitious roots, we can cut off the tips of the stems under sterile conditions and then place them into a culture medium for cultivation. This promotes the growth of young buds, and propagation speed is increased through the multiplication of axillary buds. After hardening the seedlings, do a good job with seedling management and then transplant them at the appropriate time. In vitro propagation can effectively prevent and control pests and diseases, enhance the growth vigor of strawberries, ensure leaf growth, and improve growth vitality. It also requires few land resources and is not affected by the external environment, making it a relatively good propagation method. However, its technology is not yet very mature, so it is not recommended that everyone adopt it.
The above is a brief introduction to strawberry propagation methods. There are many propagation methods for strawberries, and everyone needs to have a certain understanding of them. Use propagation methods reasonably according to your own propagation techniques and planting direction, so as to ensure your own economic benefits from planting. That is all for today's introduction. This article is for reference only. Thank you everyone for reading and supporting!