Improved Sustainability through Novel Water Management Strategies for Strawberry Transplant Establishment in Florida, United States

Abstract

Establishing bare-root transplants in Florida, United States, is an inefficient water-consuming activity. Between 3500 and 5500 m 3 /ha are applied with sprinkler irrigation to lower temperatures around the transplant crown and aid early root development, but more than 97% of the water volume runs off the polyethylene-covered beds. Research has been conducted to evaluate the feasibility of producing containerized (plug) short-day cultivar transplants under Florida conditions, the effect of continuous and intermittent low-volume sprinklers on transplant establishment and the use of kaolin clay to reduce stress on young transplants. Research results demonstrated that growers may have alternatives to reduce water use and pumping costs during strawberry transplant establishment by the following: (a) plug transplants can be produced from mother plants from Florida's subtropical weather without chilling conditioning and still be competitive in the winter market; (b) using continuous and intermittent low-volume sprinkler irrigation saves between 16% and 33% of the water volumes for strawberry establishment; and OPEN ACCESS

Crescimento, Desenvolvimento E Produção De Morangueiro a Partir De Mudas Com Diferentes Volumes De Torrão

“…Estes estudos têm relatado que o tamanho da célula ou o volume do recipiente podem causar restrições ao crescimento radicular. Em decorrência, há um impacto negativo no crescimento da parte aérea, podendo inclusive afetar a recuperação da planta ao estresse pós-transplante e seu crescimento posterior no campo (SANTOS et al, 2012).…”

“…Volumes maiores de substrato possibilitam maior crescimento de raízes. Como consequência, há um elevado aporte hídrico e nutricional disponível, que promove maior produção de massa vegetativa, gerando maior acúmulo de substâncias de reserva na coroa através da fotossíntese (SANTOS et al, 2012). Esta hipótese é sustentada pelos resultados obtidos neste trabalho com mudas produzidas em bandejas contendo maior volume de alvéolos.…”

“…Mudas com sistema radicular pouco desenvolvido, quando transplantadas para o campo, têm dificuldade de compensar a evapotranspiração, mesmo se bem irrigadas (DURNER et al, 2002). Assim, quanto menor for o espaço disponível às raízes, mais difícil será o suprimento de fatores de produção que assegurem satisfatório crescimento e desenvolvimento da muda (SANTOS et al, 2012).…”

The Status and Future of the Strawberry Industry in the United States

“…Because of the impaired root systems typified by bare-root transplants and the high temperatures that result from the black plastic mulch used with the strawberry crop, growers routinely apply sprinkler irrigation for 10 to 12 d during establishment to moderate air temperatures to promote crown survival. Recommendations have been developed to reduce water use for bare-root transplant establishment by reducing the volume of sprinkler irrigation and foliar application of a kaolin clay suspension (Santos et al, 2012).…”

Production Techniques for Strawberry Plugs in West-central Florida

“…Strawberry transplants for the winter season are usually grown in northern latitudes and shipped to southern states in late September for planting (Hochmuth et al, 2006a;Hokanson et al, 2004). The most common strawberry transplant in Florida is bareroot (BR) with leaves still attached (Santos et al, 2012). Under the traditional production practices of Florida, BR require between 3500 and 5500 m 3 Áha -1 per season of continuous sprinkler irrigation during daylight hours to reduce air temperature around the strawberry crown (Bish et al, 1997;Cluever et al, 2016;Forcelini et al, 2017;Santos et al, 2012).…”