THE EFFECT OF DIGGING DATE AND CHILLING HISTORY ON ROOT CARBOHYDRATE CONTENT AND CROPPING OF ‘CHANDLER’ AND ‘DOUGLAS’ STRAWBERRIES IN PORTUGAL

In order to determine changes in the root carbohydrate content in the nursery, and the relation to digging date and cold storage after digging, root starch and total sugars content were analysed over a period of two years (1992 and 1993) in two Californian short-day cultivars, ‘Douglas’ and ‘Chandler’. Plants were dug on three different dates, middle of October, beginning and middle of November, and were subjected to 0, 2 and 4 weeks of cold storage at 2ºC, before transplanting.
For both cultivars, starch accumulation was greater in plants dug in the middle of November.
Root starch content generally decreased with cold storage treatment, with a concomitant increase in sugar levels.
In 1993, plants received a greater number of chilling hours in the nursery compared to 1992, and had larger crowns and higher levels of carbohydrates in the roots.
There was a positive relationship between root carbohydrate reserves and early fruit yield in both cultivars.
This suggests that the production of the first fruits is dependent on the plant carbohydrate status at digging, and confirms the importance of the quality of strawberry plants in the winter planting system.

IV International Strawberry Symposium

M.G.S. Palha, D.R. Taylor, A.A. Monteiro

Fragaria x ananassa, winter planting system, plant quality

https://doi.org/10.17660/ActaHortic.2002.567.109