2018 ASHS Annual Conference

The use of protected agriculture such as high tunnels and low tunnels have grown in popularity over the years, however not much research has been done on the actual potential of crop protection that can be offered from the use of low tunnels inside of high tunnels. This two-year study took place at the North Carolina Agriculture and Technical State University farm in Greensboro, NC (hardiness zone 7). The high tunnel was 30’ (W) x 96’ (L), managed organically and had a single layer 6­mil polyplastic cover. Low tunnels consisted of metal wire hoops covered with 1­mil perforated plastic. The experimental design was a completely randomized design (CRD), conducted as a split­plot with three replications. The main plots were black plastic mulched beds combined with or without low tunnels; the split plots were cultivars Benicia, Camino Real, Florida Radiance and Winterstar. Strawberry plugs were planted on September 1^st of 2016 and 2017. Marketable yields were not affected by low tunnel treatments. However, there were significant differences between the four varieties. Marketable yields were not affected by treatments, between low tunnel and no low tunnel, however there were significant differences between the four varieties. From the 2016/17 season, marketable yield totals were 386.18 g/plant with low tunnels and 433.84 without low tunnels. Cultivar Florida Radiance (475.14 g/plant) had the highest marketable yield, followed by Camino Real (428.06), Benicia (381.22) and Winterstar (355.6). From the 2017/18 season (up to February 28) the marketable yield was 39.1 g/plant with low tunnels and 32.7 without low tunnels. The marketable yields for cultivars are as follows: Winterstar (47.9 g/plant) had the highest marketable yield, followed by Florida Radiance (46.5), Benicia (32.8), and Camino Real (16.5). Overall, using low tunnels inside high tunnels may not be more effective than using high tunnels alone, but choosing more productive varieties may be a more beneficial option. This study will continue until May 2018 for complete evaluations of the low/high tunnel systems and cultivars.