Strawberries are traditionally grown with a matted-row system in Indiana. Plasticulture is relatively new. It brings market opportunities and potentially high income. However, growing strawberries in plasticulture is much more expensive than the matted-row system. Farmers need a good understanding of the system to avoid significant economic loss. In the Strawberry Chat Podcast episodes, you…Read more about Farmers Shared Experiences in Plasticulture Strawberry Production[Read More]
Strawberry
As strawberry harvest winds down, attention turns to strawberry renovation. Renovation consists of mowing existing strawberry foliage (Figure 1) and, in matted row systems, cultivating to reduce row width. When combined with strategic herbicide applications, this can be a great time in the production cycle to catch up on weed management or maintain your level…Read more about Weed Management at Strawberry Renovation[Read More]
The harvest season may not have ended yet; it is time to plan for the new planting. This article summarizes options for planting materials and considerations for plasticulture-grown strawberries in the region. Purchasing plug plants Plug plants are like vegetable transplants with actively growing root systems. Plug plants are much easier to establish than bare-root…Read more about Plug? Bare-root? What Other Options for Plasticulture Strawberry Planting? [Read More]
This time of year, my email inbox and phone text messages are filled with ugly photos of fruit and vegetable crops affected by suspected herbicide exposure. Sometimes the symptomology points toward a clear cause and effect, but most of the time the answer is not so clear-cut. Here are a couple recent examples: Cupping and…Read more about Diagnosing Herbicide Injury is Easy… Sometimes.[Read More]
Growing strawberries under high tunnels can extend the harvest season, provide protection against rain, frost, and disease, and improve overall yield and fruit marketability. Pest pressure, however, can be higher on protected culture strawberry compared to the open field. This is especially true for small, soft-bodied pests such as spider mites, aphids, and thrips. Even…Read more about Research Update: Insect Pest Management for the High Tunnel Strawberry Production System[Read More]
Plasticulture strawberry harvest has kicked off in southern Indiana. These plants went through a winter of temperatures, ups and downs, and survived the unexpected frosts in April. Finally, it is harvest time! This article’s title is a message from a grower. The straightforward explanation is that plants received more sunlight and warmed up faster on…Read more about Why do the East Side of My Strawberry Rows Have Way More Ripe Ones than the West Side?[Read More]
At the Meigs Horticultural facility we are now seeing, more clearly, the damages from the April 24th freezing temperatures. All fruit crops are starting to grow out of that damage, which is good to see. I would still say that our loss on crops across the farm is 10-15% except for the Shiro Plums. The…Read more about Crop Conditions[Read More]
We received a freeze warning in Vincennes last Sunday with a predicted low temperature of 33 °F. Growers in southern Indiana reported minimal damage on plants covered with floating row covers. But significant damage was observed in fields that were not protected or covered with a thin layer of floating row cover. At Southwest Purdue…Read more about Without Protection, Freezing Temperatures Monday Morning Caused Damage on Plasticulture Strawberries in Southern Indiana[Read More]
What is Optogen®? The active ingredient in Optogen® (Figure 1) is bicyclopyrone. Corn growers may recognize bicyclopyrone as one of the four herbicide ingredients in Acuron® herbicide. Bicyclopyrone is a Group 27 herbicide with both pre-emergence and post-emergence activity on select weed species. Group 27 herbicides inhibit an enzyme known as “HPPD”, resulting in an…Read more about Optogen®- a new herbicide available in select vegetables and strawberry.[Read More]