2018 ASHS Annual Conference

The majority of Florida strawberry production utilizes bare-root transplants that require large volumes of sprinkler irrigation for establishment. Although plug transplants can be established without sprinkler irrigation, they generally more than double the cost of bare-root transplants. We hypothesized that a combined use of plug transplants and heat stress management practices would be an effective strategy for water conservation and improving early yields for strawberry production. ‘Florida Radiance’ plugs were transplanted in September 2016 and 2017 in Citra and Wimauma, FL on beds mulched with white-on-black plastic mulch. This treatment (WPK) utilized plug transplants that were treated with foliar applications of kaolin at 56 kg/ha immediately after transplanting and at 7 days transplanting. Plant growth and yield were compared to those of bare-root transplants set in mid-October on beds mulched with black plastic mulch and established using either standard sprinkler irrigation (BBH) or micro-sprinkler (BBM) irrigation. Irrigation water use at both Citra and Wimauma was lower with plug transplants than bare-root transplants, even though the former were transplanted earlier, due to the elimination of sprinkler irrigation for plug transplant establishment. Flowering occurred 4 and 5 days earlier with the WPK treatment than with the BBM and BBH treatments, respectively. In both years an early yield of 7.8 t/ha was obtained with WPK, which was higher than those with BBM (1.9 and 5.3 t/ha) and BBH (1.8 and 4.1 t/ha). Total marketable yield with WPK was also significantly greater than with BBM and BBH. Partial budget analysis indicated that the WPK treatment at Citra increased the net return by $7,918/acre with a consistent result obtained at Wimauma. These results will inform decision-making about cropping system modification that can be adopted by Florida strawberry growers to considerably reduce water use in an economically feasible manner.