Opportunities for strawberry production using new U.C. day-neutral cultivars

Transcription

1 Opportunities for strawberry production using new U.C. day-neutral cultivars Kirk Larson Pomologist and CE Specialist Dept. of Plant Sciences, UC Davis

2 Professor Douglas Shaw Quantitative Geneticist UC Davis

3 UC Strawberry Website Industry/grower reports Annual Report - Processing Strawberry Advisory Board of California ppt presentations Scientific reports Annual Pomology Report Calendar of events

4 UC day-neutral strawberry breeding objectives Extended fruiting season with stable production Easy to grow (nursery & fruiting field) High yield & quality across a range of chilling exposures Consistently high fruit quality and flavor Plant architecture that facilitates fruit harvest Disease & environmental tolerances

5 California strawberry production regions Cool winters, mild summers Year-round fruit production High-elevation nurseries Low-elevation nurseries Watsonville-Salinas Santa Maria Ventura County Orange Co. & San Diego

6 Fruit production using the new DN cultivars Monterey, Portola and San Andreas These 3 cultivars represent a significant step in the development of day-neutral cultivars Fruit quality similar to Albion but w/ greater yields Adapted to a wide range of chilling exposures In southern Calif., reduced chilling requirements enable: early digging/planting early production with high yields excellent fruit quality

7 San Andreas High elevation bare-root plants (leaves-off) Dig/plant date: 9/28-10/1 Photo: 12/10/11

8 Monterey Moderate day-neutral cultivar Vigorous plant Large fruit with good color & excellent, v.sweet flavor Use mid-october plantings in So. Calif. In Central Coast, plant from early- to late-nov. Highly productive with a later production pattern than most DN cultivars in So. California Cautions: powdery mildew some irregular fruit shape cold damage in HE nurseries - early spring

9 Monterey Dug 10/15, planted 11/7 Dug 10/15, planted 10/23

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11 Production management of Monterey in So. Calif. Preplant soil fumigation - use best fumigants available Drip-applied fumigants are most common, but may not be the most effective Pre-plant (slotted) CR fertilizer # N/acre Pre-plant mulch: clear, panda or black Plant source: HE nurseries near CA/OR border Plant size is important: want >0.8 cm crown diameters Bare-root (no leaves) plants dug Oct. 6-12, plant Oct ,500 plants/acre (64, 4-row beds, w/16 in-row spacing)

12 Production management of Monterey in So. Calif. Use sprinklers to establish plants during first 2-3 weeks Depending on plant development and weather, begin feeding w/soluble fertilizer 4-6 weeks after planting Use drip-applied soluble fertilizer ( or similar) every 2 weeks to encourage side-crown development Once plants are well-established, apply deep irrigations ~2x/week to promote deep rooting With increasing fruit loads in late Jan./early Feb., switch to a soluble fertilizer to maintain fruit quality (flavor, firmness and color)

13 Monterey

14 Monterey plug plants produced with zero chill hours in Southern California

15 San Andreas The most widely-planted cultivar in So. California Moderate day-neutral with early flowering Compact plant that facilitates fruit harvest Fruit sought by high-end retailers Very few or no runners in fruiting fields Highly rain-tolerant Strong disease tolerance profile In So. Calif., plant by Oct. 1 In Central Coast, plant mid-nov. Special needs in So. California: Use clear or panda mulch to promote veg growth Remove panicle(s) to encourage veg growth

16 Black Panda Bed mulch color and plant vigor Clear

17 High-elevation plants of San Andreas in So. Calif. December, 2010 Plants dug 9/28, planted 10/1

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19 San Andreas

20 Fruit of San Andreas in April - Irvine, CA

21 Production management of S. Andreas in So. Calif. Preplant soil fumigation - use best fumigants available Drip-applied fumigants are most common, but may not be the most effective Pre-plant (slotted) CR fertilizer #/acre Pre-plant mulch: clear or panda (not black) Plant source: HE nurseries near CA/OR border Plant size is important: want >0.8 cm crown diameters Bare-root (no leaves) plants dug Sept. 24 to Oct. 1, planted Sept. 26 to Oct. 4 Use 30,000-32,750 plants/acre (64, 4-row beds, with either 12 or 13 in-row spacing)

22 Production management of S. Andreas in So. Calif. Use sprinklers to establish plants during first 2-3 weeks Remove flowering panicles to encourage veg. growth Depending on plant development and weather, begin feeding w/soluble fertilizer 3-4 weeks after planting Use drip-applied soluble fertilizer ( or similar) to encourage veg. growth and side-crown development Once plants are well-established, apply deep irrigations ~2x/week to promote deep rooting With increasing fruit loads in late Jan - early Feb, switch to a low N analysis fertilizer ( ) to maintain fruit quality (flavor, firmness and color)

23 Dug 10/15, planted 11/7 San Andreas Dug 10/15, planted 10/23

24 San Andreas plug plants with zero chill hours in Southern California, late November

25 San Andreas field in Santa Maria - April

26 San Andreas in Oxnard, California High-elevation plants planted October 2 Photo taken January 3

27 Bed mulch color affects growth and fruiting of San Andreas Clear mulch Black mulch

28 Portola Strong day-neutral cultivar Very early fruiting Highly productive High quality fruit In So. Calif., growers use cold-stored plants to obtain off-season fruit from Sept. - Jan. In Central Coast region, use fresh-dug plants established early- to mid-november Note: Less rain-tolerant than Monterey or San Andreas

29 Production management of Portola in So. Calif. Preplant soil fumigation - use best fumigants available Drip-applied fumigants are most common, but may not be the most effective Pre-plant (slotted) CR fertilizer #/acre Pre-plant mulch: white on black (cools soil) Plant source: LE nurseries in CA Central Valley Use bare-root, cold-stored plants dug in Jan. Plant size is important: want >0.8 cm crown diameters Plant from March - July for fruit production June - Jan ~24,500 plants/acre (64, 4-row beds, 16 in-row spacing)

30 Production management of Portola in So. Calif. Use sprinklers to establish plants during first 2-3 weeks Remove 1 st flower panicle to encourage veg. growth Let 2 nd flower panicle set fruit, and only prune it off when the 3 rd panicle is visible Cold-stored plants are highly vigorous, so may not need much fertilizer If needed, use drip-applied fertilizer ( or similar) to encourage veg. growth & crown development Once plants are well-established, apply deep irrigations ~2x/week to promote deep rooting With heavy fruiting, use soluble fertilizer to maintain fruit quality (flavor, firmness and color)

31 Portola: fresh-dug plant

32 HE Portola plants planted late November in Santa María, CA Photo taken April 13

33 Portola cold-stored plants

34 Performance of summer-planted (cold-stored) plants of Portola in Southern California Planted July 1 White-on-black mulch reduces soil temperature and promotes plant growth

35 Performance of summer-planted Portola and Albion in three years ( ) in Irvine, CA 12-pound crates per acre Fruit. % size app firm Cultivar Sept Oct Nov Dec Total cull (g) (5=best) (5= v. firm) Albion Portola * Cold-stored (frigo) plants planted June 28

36 Portola

37 Performance of HE Albion compared with Monterey, Portola & San Andreas in Watsonville, Total Late* yield yield App. Grams Firmness Cultivar (MT ha -1 ) (MT ha-1) (1-5) fruit -1 lbs inch -2 Albion Monterey S.Andreas Portola Late yield = yield after September 1 App. = subjective appearance score (5=best) Macdoel nursery plants dug Oct. 15, planted with 2.5 weeks storage

38 Yield performance of Albion and new DN cultivars using cold-stored plants Fruit Yield Wt App Firmness Var g/plant (g) (1-5) lbs/in 2 Albion Monterey San Andreas Portola Cold-stored plants planted Sept. 7 in Watsonville, Calif

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41 Nursery dig date and chilling exposure affect plant vigor Plants dug Oct. 20 Plants dug Sept. 10 Plants dug Oct. 1

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43 UC Strawberry website: Scientific Reports Industry Reports Production Bulletins Calendar of Events Annual Pomology Project Report

44 Thanks to : Lassen Canyon Nursery TRICAL Tom Gordon and Steve Koike

45 Strawberry production in the USA : 2010 Crop surface area Crop production State Has. % total MT % total California 15, ,089, ,600 acres 1,201,183 tons Florida 3, , ,800 acres 96,885 tons 48 states 3, , ,600 acres 36,832 tons Total 22, ,211, ,000 acres 1,334,900 tons Source: Processing Strawberry Advisory Board of California, 2010 Annual Report

46 USA & World strawberry production : 2010 Crop surface area Crop production Country Has. % total MT % USA 23, ,292, ,981 acres 1,425,780 tons World (-USA) 220, ,074, ,689 acres 3,388,568 tons Total World 243, ,366, ,670 acres 4,813,590 tons Source:

47 50-year summary of California strawberry production and per capita consumption of strawberries in the USA California production USA per capita consumption (kgs) Year Has. MT/ha Fresh Frozen Total Source: Processing Strawberry Advisory Board of California Annual Reports, 1980 & 2010