Winter Strawberry Transplanting Methods and Fertilization Experience Before and After Planting

For strawberry growers, how to transplant strawberries in winter to improve the survival rate, and how to fertilize before and after transplanting? These are very important questions! So here we will talk about some tips and techniques!

First, how to fertilize before transplanting:

Before transplanting, deep plow the soil, and during the plowing process apply 15 kg of diammonium phosphate and 10 kg of potassium sulfate. Because strawberries grow vigorously in the early stage and reproductive growth is too slow, it is very important to reasonably balance the use of nitrogen and phosphorus. Finally, rake the soil fine to prepare for ridging.

After transplanting, how can the survival rate be improved and fertilization be coordinated well?

To improve the survival rate, you must: 1. Regulate temperature and humidity: start covering with film for insulation in early November. When the temperature drops to 5°C at night, an inner tunnel should be added inside the greenhouse. When the lowest nighttime temperature drops below 0°C, small hoop tunnels should be added over the strawberry ridges.

2. Cover with film to suppress weeds: after completing weeding, loosening the soil, earthing up around the roots, and replanting missing seedlings, lay black plastic film over the plants on the ridge surface. This can not only maintain soil moisture and suppress weed growth, but also lower the air temperature inside the greenhouse, isolate strawberry fruit from contact with the soil to reduce disease, and keep the fruit brightly colored, clean, and hygienic.

Laying method: cover the black plastic film over the plants on the ridge surface, tear a small hole in the film, then carefully pull out the leaves, and be sure to expose the central leaves of the seedling.

3. Tidy the plants: after insulation in the greenhouse, strawberry plants grow faster and will sprout a large number of tillers and runners. These tillers and runners should be removed in time so as to increase the leaf area of the main stem, promote timely sprouting of the terminal flower buds and the emergence of robust terminal inflorescences, and lead to early flowering and fruiting. Generally, each strawberry plant should retain at most 1—2 relatively robust tillers, and old, weak, and diseased leaves should be removed in time.

4. Thin buds and flowers: strawberries have corymbose inflorescences with many flowers. The development and opening of these flowers consumes a lot of nutrients, especially the higher-order flowers. Even if they set fruit, the fruit is small and poor in quality, with no economic value, so buds and flowers should be thinned as early as possible. Generally, this work can be done after flowering. Mainly retain grade 1, 2, and 3 flowers, and remove grade 4 and 5 flower buds, frost-damaged flowers, and severely deformed fruit. Generally, the terminal inflorescence of each strawberry plant retains 6—7 fruit, and the number of fruit retained on subsequent inflorescences depends on growth and harvest conditions. In short, the total number of large and small fruit developing at the same time should not exceed 15. In combination with bud and flower thinning, remove old leaves and spent inflorescence stalks at any time.

5. Fertilization management after transplanting:

(1) One week after strawberry transplanting and survival, spray various fertilizers such as potassium nitrate, monopotassium phosphate, magnesium sulfate, and zinc sulfate multiple times. In early October, apply urea and monopotassium phosphate according to the growth condition of the strawberries, using a method of small amounts applied frequently.

(2) In early November, choose a time period with abundant sunshine and high temperature to spray gibberellin, thereby effectively breaking the dormancy period of strawberries and promoting flowering. When flower buds appear, spray trace elements such as boric acid in time, and fertilize reasonably according to the growth condition of the strawberries to reduce the probability of deformed fruit. Two weeks before picking, apply 3 times a foliar fertilizer containing steviol glycosides. The main role of steviol glycosides is to increase the sugar content of the berries and regulate the sweet-sour ratio of the strawberries.

(3) Throughout the entire growth process, strawberries should also be sprayed with liquid silicon fertilizer to promote the growth of plant and fruit cell walls, increase leaf thickness, improve berry firmness, and provide important protection for transportation and freshness preservation after harvest.