Articles
The effect of long-day treatment on runners and inflorescences on everbearing strawberry cultivar ‘Capri’
Article number
1117_46
Pages
285 – 290
Language
English
Abstract
Everbearing strawberry cultivars can produce several flower flushes during the growing season, due to the capability of flower initiation under long day lengths.
This characteristic might be an opportunity in commercial strawberry cultivation in Belgium, where so far mainly short-day cultivars are grown.
Everbearers could reduce costs if they could replace two plantings with June-bearing cultivars.
Optimisation of growing technique is necessary and possibilities with photoperiod extension are investigated.
In a glasshouse, the cultivar ‘Capri’ (CIV, Italy) is subjected to the effect of preharvest night-interruption (NI) with incandescent lights.
Two weeks after planting, cyclic lighting started during the night.
Three objects are compared with an unlighted object: one object is lighted for two weeks, another for the next two weeks and the last object is lighted for the total period of four weeks.
The effect on yield, cropping pattern and number of runners is registered.
The first flush is a result of the flowers initiated during plant production, and is not affected by the NI treatment.
The results show that NI treatment can increase yield and advance the second flush and also the number of runners could be reduced.
Flower induction and development is stimulated at the expense of runner production.
The third flush is hardly affected by the preharvest NI treatment.
It is clear that growing the everbearing cultivar ‘Capri’ can be improved by artificial lighting to obtain higher yields during the second flush.
This characteristic might be an opportunity in commercial strawberry cultivation in Belgium, where so far mainly short-day cultivars are grown.
Everbearers could reduce costs if they could replace two plantings with June-bearing cultivars.
Optimisation of growing technique is necessary and possibilities with photoperiod extension are investigated.
In a glasshouse, the cultivar ‘Capri’ (CIV, Italy) is subjected to the effect of preharvest night-interruption (NI) with incandescent lights.
Two weeks after planting, cyclic lighting started during the night.
Three objects are compared with an unlighted object: one object is lighted for two weeks, another for the next two weeks and the last object is lighted for the total period of four weeks.
The effect on yield, cropping pattern and number of runners is registered.
The first flush is a result of the flowers initiated during plant production, and is not affected by the NI treatment.
The results show that NI treatment can increase yield and advance the second flush and also the number of runners could be reduced.
Flower induction and development is stimulated at the expense of runner production.
The third flush is hardly affected by the preharvest NI treatment.
It is clear that growing the everbearing cultivar ‘Capri’ can be improved by artificial lighting to obtain higher yields during the second flush.
Authors
T. Van Delm, P. Melis, K. Stoffels, W. Baets
Keywords
Fragaria × ananassa, photoperiod, cyclic lighting, night-interruption, day-neutral
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