FURTHER OBSERVATIONS CONCERNING THE INDUCTION OF A SECOND SUMMER-FLOWERING WITH RED GAUNTLET AND OTHER STRAWBERRY VARIETIES

Our investigations concerning the induction of a second flowering with Red Gauntlet started in 1968, and already in that year we observed that a short-day treatment of 30 days, starting at the beginning of the first flowering (early May), gave the best results in that time.
Indeed, the later the short-day treatment was started (e.g. from the beginning of the weaning of the flowers or from the beginning of the harvest), the more the first and especially the second harvest was reduced.

The investigations concerning a further rationalization of the shortday treatment showed that a treatment of 20 short days instead of 30 did not reduce the first harvest in relation to the plants that had not been darkened, whereas a second harvest could be obtained as big as the one from the plants that had been darkened for 30 successive days from 5 p. m. until 9 a. m.

Moreover, a second harvest proved to be possible with 20 tested varieties and from this orientating experiment the tendency appeared that varieties with a later flowering-period reacted better on the short-day treatment, applied at that time, than the earlier cultivars.

Symposium on Strawberry under Protection

F. Benoit

https://doi.org/10.17660/ActaHortic.1973.30.14