LARGE PLASTIC TUNNELS

In those regions where the strawberry plant culture is the only one, the shelters put on the market are generally well-built and therefore very expensive.
This prevents any reasonable profit since annual expenditures are too high.

There exist two types of tunnel-shaped shelter of 3.7 m long and over.
They have specially been studied for the strawberry plant culture and the rather low price makes it possible for one spring production to compensate for the annual cost of the shelter.

The assembling of a frame made of light U-shaped iron is the cheaper; however, it can only be used in particular places.
It costs about 36 B. Fr. per m2.

With the shelter in wire metting and net, it is possible to use very thin plastic films without any risk of damage since it suffers little.
It can be used whatever the situation.
The cost of assembling is about 77 B. Fr. per square metre.

Such type of construction may fit for shelters up to 7 metres wide, which helps to precocity.

If maximum profitability is to be reached, the shelters devoted only to the culture of strawberry plants must satisfy to certain conditions:

• certain width to obtain optimum density of production;

• film renewed every year;

• nature of the film: P. V. C. gives earlier production than P. E.

Symposium on Strawberry under Protection

R. Lemaître

https://doi.org/10.17660/ActaHortic.1973.30.17