Effects of High Tunnel Production On Florida Strawberry Cultivars

United States is the main grower of strawberries in the world an area of 22,300 ha, where California grows 60% of the strawberry production and Florida 15%.  In U.S. and Latin America open-field production is the main production system used, while in Europe protected agriculture, such as high tunnels is widely used. High tunnels are unheated, plastic covered, solar greenhouses, with passive ventilation through roll-up side walls. Among the potential benefits of growing strawberries in tunnels are yield improvement, fruit quality enhancement, protection from rain damage and early damage promotion. In spite of the popular use of high tunnels and protected agriculture in other countries; it is still necessary to investigate their effects in the Florida strawberry production, due to the differences on climates, cultivars grown and production systems. The objective of this study was to assess the effects of high tunnels on strawberry production, versus the open field production in Florida. The cultivars 'Strawberry Festival', 'Winter Dawn' and 'Florida Elyana' were tested inside of 16-ft high tunnels and in open fields during the 2007-08 and 2008-09 seasons. Resulting data showed that plant diameter was higher inside the tunnel compared with outside for all cultivars at 11 and 15 weeks after transplant. The total yields of 'Strawberry Festival', 'Winter Dawn' and 'Florida Elyana' increased by 39, 87 and 85% in the tunnels in comparison with the open fields in the 2007-08 season, when early freeze temperatures occurred. Strawberry sugar content was not significantly different among environments; ‘Florida Elyana’ had the higher sugar content, followed by ‘Strawberry Festival’ and ‘Winter Dawn’ with values of 7.4, 6.1 and 5.2% respectively.