Actual situation of the strawberries on substrate

1. Developments in substrates in the UK
Soft Fruit Industry February 12th 2008
Wim Roosen
DLV Plant BV

2. DLV Plant UK 2008
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3. DLV Plant UK 2008
Soil or substrate? Does it matter?
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4. DLV Plant UK 2008
Growing softfruit on substrates:
• Less risks to diseases • More risks to control
• More good plants/m2 • Dripping = most difficult
• Flexibility - weather part of growing
• More yield • Feeding EC/pH
• Fast picking TT • Daily control / balance!
• More investments • Good equipment
• Less costs per kg: • Good staff/managers
– Now, 2010, 2015? • Training & support!
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5. DLV Plant UK 2008
WHY do you want go to substrate crops?
• Bigger & more fruit – Yes, with staggered
trusses on the headcrown / special trayplants:
• Only 1-2 side crowns + more plants/mtr
• Bad structure of soil, stones, diseases
• Small area – high yield (2 crops/year
• Supermarkets – methylbromide and others
• For the pickers – increase productivity (kg/hr)
• For enough pickers !!
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6. DLV Plant UK 2008
So: when you do not go to substrates:
• Very good soil, high yields of good quality
• No problem to have enough & good pickers
Future:
• Increase of environmental and labor issues
• More and more substrates…
• WORLDWIDE !!
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7. DLV Plant UK 2008
Hectares of strawberries NL + Belgium:
glasshouses tunnels/rainc. Outdoor TT trayfields
250 ha: + 100 ha: + 50 ha: ++ 150 ha: ++
• In NL/B: 1980, pots in GH – few growers
Strong increase from 1990 – 2000-4000 m2
Strong increase since 1997 – over 1ha GH
• Soon 10 ha GH companies: 1200 ton/yr
• Today approx. 550 ha NL/B substrate
• Raspberries increase since 2005
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8. DLV Plant UK 2008
ha substrates in UK/Eire
1000
800
h ectares
600 peat mix
400 100% coir
200
0
1995 2000 2005 2010 2015 2020 2025
Year
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9. DLV Plant UK 2008
Raspberries & Strawberries:
blackberries:
90% on pure coir 65% on pure coir
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10. DLV Plant UK 2008
Why coir?
• Fine material to fill pots/troughs; easy to cover
roots well
• Very uniform & airy product
• Stable structure for > 4 years:
– Long crops as Autumn raspberries
– More years use of coirbags
But every year a bit more moist (old roots) less drips
• Only when treated well to safe use in softfruit
• Special recipes & dripping strategies
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11. DLV Plant UK 2008
When is coir to use?
- Propagation – trayplants: mixes peat & coir
- Depends on the quality of the basic water:
- EC (Sodium < 30 mg/l, Chloride < 60 mg/l).
- Silicon in relation to albinism in Elsanta (< 6 mg/l)
Autumn crop GH: much fruit, vigour-NH4, unbalance
(these you can control!) + high Si, cloudy: albinism
Less limitation to Spring & Summer crops (< 10 mg/l)
“No limitation” to other crops & varieties (< 15 mg/l)
- Use of coirbags for 3-4 years = less costs
- Higher subtrates (e.g. pots) – more % run off =
less sensitive to albinsm ● © DLV Plant

12. DLV Plant UK 2008
Points of attention:
• Peat = fertilized & Coir = not fertilized
• Peat basic EC < 0,1: space to add feed
– Start with low EC to root in
• Coir basic EC is 0,3-0,6: no space to add feed
– Start with feed from wetting up the coir
• Fill pots/troughs/bags uniform
– Equal pressure while planting/covering roots
– Rooting period: just moist, do not drip too much!
– Balance in moist = drip what is transpirated + % RO
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13. DLV Plant UK 2008
N-feed: nitrate and ammonium:
• In UK: less NO3 used compared to NL/B - ??
Potassiumsulphate is used a lot = OK for soil....
Soil differs to substrate: volume & nitrification
• NH4 (ammonium) in the feed makes plants (too)
vigour and increases the sensitivity to albinsm
in the Autumn Elsanta in GH.
• 1% NH4 in solid Caliumnitrate; good for start,
but on river water too much in fruitingstage
• Use liquid Calciumnitrate from flowering stage
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14. DLV Plant UK 2008
Balance:
• EC in the compost:
start/rooting period, fast growing (EC up), fruiting
• pH: stable 5,5 all crops, except blueberries 4,5
• Moist: 50-60% on WET probe; feel as well!
• Run off: 0 – 5 – 10 – 20 – 30%, depends on
– System: bags – troughs – pots
– Outdoor, tunnels (vent enough!!) or GH
– Period of year, temperature, sun, transpiration (RH)
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15. DLV Plant UK 2008
Substrates: easier to steer than soil
• Small volume of water gives easy adjustments
to feed: quick reaction
• DLV developed special recipes for each crop
on coir or peat
• Important to coir is a stable source and very
well process control to quality:
• Special treatment – EC, pH, buffering Ca/Mg
• The right age, structure and sievings: > 1mm
• RHP-certificate in Holland; it took > 10 years to
develop the right coir for strawberries!
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16. DLV Plant UK 2008
Where does the coir come from?
• from
coconuts
• from
nice &
sunny
places
• around
the
equator
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17. DLV Plant UK 2008
Where does the coir come from?
• Palmae of Arecaceae
• Cocos nucifera
• 30 mtr high, - 6 mtr leaves
• Big industry: oil-shampoo,
milk-pina colada, jewelery,
bounty, fibres (drainpipes,
door-mats, carpets)
• “dust” was left….. till some
Dutchmen saw it in 1990.
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18. DLV Plant UK 2008
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19. DLV Plant UK 2008
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20. DLV Plant UK 2008
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21. DLV Plant UK 2008
How many coconuts you need for 1 m3?
• Approx. 60 grams dry coir
dust per coconut
• 1 m3 dry weight = 95 kg
• So 1600 coconuts to
collect, transport, open,
seave, treat, wash to
have 1 m3 product
• Only few % is used so far
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22. DLV Plant UK 2008
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23. DLV Plant UK 2008
Developments in Soft Fruit:
• New crops to substrates: blueberries (long term)
• New varieties & planttypes needs 3-4 yrs tests
• New propagation techniques – uniform plants
• SQMS®: monitoring & guide system for
Strawberries in glasshouses and prop. trayplants
• Developing into tunnels to improve fruit quality
• To develop a planning system to 60 day crops
based on growing degree hours & test plantings
• Klaas Walraven and Bert Meurs will tell you more
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24. DLV Plant UK 2008
Substrate or soil? Does it matter? Yes it does!
Elsanta: 25-35 ton
Everbearer: 30-50 ton
Tulameen: 15-22 ton
Blueberries: 10-20 ton
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25. DLV Plant UK 2008
Thanks for your attention
Questions?
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26. DLV Plant UK 2008
Thanks again to the sponsors of today:
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27. DLV Plant UK 2008
Strawberries in Europe 2004:
Country Total surface Protected Substrate Tendency substrate
in ha cropping in ha culture in ha culture in the near future
* **
United Kingdom 3200 680 155 (strong) increase
Ireland 200 66 35 Small increase
Germany 11.000 80 20 Small increase
Switzerland 410 50 15 Small increase
France 4500 1930 265 Strong increase
Italy 3900 3025 150 Small increase
Spain 7000 1900 61 Strong increase
Portugal 600 300 45 Increase
Greece 365 320 1 Stable
Austria 1200 10 2 Stable
Norway 1790 10 0.5 Stable
Sweden 1900 15 3 Stable
Denmark 1060 5 1 Stable
Finland 4500 8 4 Stable/small increase
*greenhouses and large tunnels ** including outdoor soilless productionsystems
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28. DLV Plant UK 2008
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