THE INFLUENCE OF RUNNER ORDER, NIGHT TEMPERATURE AND CHILLING CYCLES ON THE EARLINESS OF ‘SELVA’ PLUG PLANT FRUIT PRODUCTION

Preliminary comparisons were made of fresh, non-dormant ‘Selva’ plugs derived from second and third order daughter plant cuttings to evaluate the potential effect of the position of the runner plantlet on reproductive development and early season fruiting in a growth chamber environment.
In addition, an evaluation was made of the influence of night temperature conditioning treatments and duration, or period of rooting, on flowering and early fruit development.
The secondary population of plug plants began flowering an average of 14 days earlier than ‘Selva’ plug plants which originated from the tertiary plantlets.
Runner order did influence early season yields with secondary plugs having significantly higher early season fruiting potential than tertiary plugs.
In the second month of fruiting, ‘Selva’ plugs exposed to 15 nights (19.00 to 8.00) of chilling (4.5°C) or cooling (10°C) had higher fruit yields and better berry size than plants exposed to warmer night temperatures (16, 18°C) for the same treatment period.

III International Strawberry Symposium

K.K. Hamann, E.B. Poling

Fragaria x ananassa, strawberry, tray plant

https://doi.org/10.17660/ActaHortic.1997.439.99