White mulch and a south facing position favour strawberry growth and quality in high latitude tunnel cultivation

Abstract

Karhu, S. T., Puranen, R. and Aflatuni, A. 2007. White mulch and a south facing position favour strawberry growth and quality in high latitude tunnel cultivation. Can. J. Plant Sci. 87: 317-325. Polyethylene mulches with black or white surface were compared in seven strawberry (Fragaria × ananassa Duch.) genotypes in a 2-yr experiment. The plants were covered by an unheated walk-in tunnel at the beginning of the first harvest season. The effects of a south-west versus north-east position of plants within the double-row beds were also studied. Soil temperatures were higher under black mulch, especially mid-day temperatures on the bed surface in the southward position. White mulch favoured root and crown growth in the first year, and the southwest position increased plant growth in both years. With black mulch, lower carbohydrate reserves were observed after transplanting, and a decreased chlorophyll content of leaves was detected in the second year. Mulch colour did not affect yield quantity. The first-year harvest was advanced with black mulch, but in the second year, the harvest season was earliest on the south side of beds with white mulch. Black mulch decreased fruit size in the first year and the concentration of fruit soluble solids in both years. The results suggest that in northern latitudes white mulch improves strawberry plant growth and fruit quality over that obtained using black mulch, but enhanced yield is not to be expected when a double-row tunnel cultivation system is used.Key words: Fragaria × ananassa, mulch, plasticulture, polyethylene, strawberry, tunnel Karhu, S. T., Puranen, R. et Aflatuni, A. 2007. Un paillis blanc et l'exposition au sud favorisent la croissance et la qualité des fraises dans les serres-tunnels à haute latitude. Can. J. Plant Sci. 87: 317-325. Lors d'une expérience qui a duré deux ans, les auteurs ont comparé des paillis de polyéthylène blanc ou noir avec sept génotypes de fraisier (Fragaria × ananassa Duch.). Pour cela, ils ont couvert les plants avec une serre-tunnel de hauteur d'homme au début de la première récolte. Ils ont aussi comparé l'incidence d'une exposition sud-ouest à celle d'une exposition nord-est sur les parcelles à double rang. Le sol est plus chaud sous un paillis noir, surtout en surface, au milieu de la journée, quand la culture est exposée au sud. Le paillis blanc a favorisé la croissance des racines et du collet la première année tandis que l'exposition au sud-ouest a accru la croissance des plants les deux années. Avec le paillis noir, les chercheurs ont remarqué une diminution des réserves d'hydrates de carbone après le repiquage et une baisse de la teneur des feuilles en chlorophylle la deuxième année. La couleur du paillis n'affecte pas le rendement. Le paillis noir a permis une récolte plus hâtive la première année, mais l'année suivante, on a récolté plus tôt les fruits des fraisiers sous paillis blanc exposés au sud. Le paillis noir a réduit le calibre des fruits la première année et la concentration de solides solubles dans le fruit les deux ...

Effect of Plastic Mulching on Strawberry Fruit Yield and Quality

“…Seasonal variations in strawberry yield productivity with mulching were found in earlier studies (Karhu et al 2007;Soliman et al 2015). Compared to the un-mulched plants, Soliman et al, 2015, reported that 'Festival' fruit yield was significantly higher with black plastic mulch treatment in the first season only.…”

“…The effect of black plastic mulching on the fruit yield could be attributed to the increasing soil temperatures and water conservation while facilitating the weed-free environment (Pandey et al 2015;Singh and Kamal 2012;Tarara 2000). This is in agreement with the results of mulching in strawberry and tomato crops (Karhu et al 2007;Singh and Kamal 2012;Soliman et al 2015). Compared to un-mulched plants, the yield of tomato plants was increased by 20.7-29.8% in black mulch treatment (Singh and Kamal 2012).…”

“…Compared to the un-mulched plants, Soliman et al, 2015, reported that 'Festival' fruit yield was significantly higher with black plastic mulch treatment in the first season only. Similarly, Karhu et al, 2007, found that black plastic mulching had improved fruit yield in their first growing season only (Karhu et al 2007).…”

Effect of Humic acid and potassium sulfate spraying on growth and yield of strawberry (Fragaria x ananassa Duch.)

“…The results were analyzed statistically using the program (SAS V 9.0, 2002), and averages were compared according to Duncan's tests at the probability level (0.05). The following characteristics were studied: 1-Leaves content of chlorophyll (SPAD): using a field device (502 -Chlorophyll Meter SPAD) [17].…”

Study of foliar boron and zinc applications andground addition of seaweed extract (Acadian) onvegetative and flowering growth traits of Strawberry

“…Where the seedlings were treated by watering them with Acadian seaweed extract at two concentrations (4, 8 g/l), spraying with boron at two con-centrations (30 and 60 mg /l of boric acid) and foliar spraying with two concentrations of zinc (50 and 100 mg /l zinc sulfate) in addition to Control treatment (untreated plants). Randomized Complete Block Design (R.C.B.D) was used to implement the experiment, with three replicates (Karhu et al, 2007).…”