EFFECTS OF CULTIVAR AND ENVIRONMENTAL INTERACTIONS ON RUNNER PRODUCTION, FRUIT YIELD, AND HARVEST TIMING OF STRAWBERRY (FRAGARIA X ANANASSA) IN ZIMBABWE

Strawberry cultivation in the tropics is complicated by the complex interactions among cultivar, photoperiod, and temperature on both production of runners in the nursery and on production of flowers.
To eliminate gluts on the local market and increase strawberries produced for export during the European winter it is necessary to alter timing of production in Zimbabwe and to produce firmer berries which will tolerate long-distance transit.
Combined use of environmental manipulation by use of row-crop covers, plastic mulches, pre-plant chilling, night lighting, and altered planting dates with newly introduced cultivars was investigated as means of increasing yields and lengthening the season.
Clear plastic mulch and both plastic and spun polyester row crop covers substantially increased yields but did not alter the season of production.
Pre-plant chilling of plants decreased yield but increased runnering of daylength-sensitive cultivars in the nursery.
Altering of planting date was not useful in timing production but late planting seriously reduced first-year yield.
The day-neutral cultivars ‘Soquel’ and ‘Fern’ were useful in lengthening of the strawberry harvest season, while highest yields were produced by ‘Tioga’, ‘Chandler’, and ‘Rolinda’.

III International Workshop on Temperate Zone Fruits in the Tropics and Subtropics

Robert P. Rice Jr

https://doi.org/10.17660/ActaHortic.1990.279.38