Views: 0 Author: aumabio Publish Time: 2024-12-28 Origin: aumabio/internet
In recent years, raised strawberry farming has become an innovative and popular method of cultivation, offering both farmers and visitors a more efficient and enjoyable experience compared to traditional ground-level strawberry farming. This article explores the advantages of raised strawberry farming, its growing popularity in agritourism, and its future potential as a sustainable farming technique.
For tourists and visitors to farms, one of the main challenges of traditional strawberry picking is the physical discomfort involved. Since strawberries grow on the ground, visitors often need to bend over to harvest the fruit, which can be tiring and inconvenient. Raised strawberry beds solve this problem by elevating the plants, making the picking process much easier and more enjoyable, as visitors do not have to bend down.
From the perspective of farmers, raised strawberry beds may require a larger initial investment, but they significantly reduce labor costs in the long run. In traditional strawberry farming, workers spend a considerable amount of time bending over to pick strawberries and remove old leaves. With raised beds, labor efficiency can be increased by up to 75%, leading to substantial cost savings. For example, for every acre of raised strawberries, farmers can reduce labor by 20-25 workers compared to traditional cultivation.
Raised strawberry farming offers a higher space utilization rate compared to ground cultivation. Traditional strawberry plants spread horizontally across the soil, while raised beds use vertical space, allowing for a higher yield per unit area. Additionally, the improved ventilation and light exposure in raised beds contribute to healthier plants. Since the strawberries are elevated off the ground, they are less likely to come into contact with soil, reducing the risk of rot and contamination.
With better airflow and access to sunlight, the color of the strawberry fruit becomes more uniform, and the firmness of the fruit improves, resulting in higher-quality produce. This is particularly important for farms catering to both local markets and tourists seeking high-quality strawberries.
One of the most common challenges in strawberry farming is the occurrence of soil-borne diseases and the negative impact of continuous cropping (growing the same crop year after year in the same soil). These issues are easily avoided in raised strawberry beds. Since raised strawberries are typically grown in substrate-based cultivation, they help mitigate soil-borne diseases and continuous cropping barriers. Farmers can reduce the use of chemical pesticides, leading to a more eco-friendly farming practice.
Additionally, substrate-based cultivation allows farmers to create a controlled environment in terms of both the medium in which strawberries grow and the irrigation systems. This makes it easier to transition towards more sustainable practices, such as organic strawberry farming or green strawberry farming, where chemical inputs are minimized.
There are two primary methods for raised strawberry cultivation: single-layer and composite-layer cultivation.
· Single-layer cultivation typically involves building raised platforms about one meter off the ground. To optimize production, multiple cultivation beds are arranged on the same level.
· Composite-layer cultivation, on the other hand, involves two or more cultivation beds stacked vertically. This method improves the unit yield of strawberries, as it maximizes space efficiency even further.
Both methods can be combined with different types of supports, such as greenhouse steel frames or plastic-covered cultivation beds. Composite-layer farming, due to its vertical nature, offers superior yield efficiency compared to single-layer cultivation.
Not all strawberry varieties are suitable for raised cultivation. Varieties like Zhang Ji and Hong Yan are better suited to raised beds, particularly in low-temperature conditions. These varieties can maintain faster growth rates even during colder weather, which is crucial for ensuring a successful harvest, particularly in winter months. On the other hand, varieties like Feng Guan, Feng Xiang, and Fraland are not recommended, as they are less tolerant to low temperatures and may enter dormancy, which results in stunted growth.
The success of raised strawberry farming begins with healthy seedlings. Among the most common propagation methods are field sowing, rain-sheltered sowing, and nutrient pot cultivation.
· Nutrient pot cultivation produces stronger, more robust strawberry plants with better root systems, fewer pests, and diseases. These seedlings also have a shorter growth period, allowing farmers to harvest up to one month earlier than those grown through other methods.
· Field sowing and rain-sheltered sowing are more traditional methods, though they may not yield plants with as strong root systems.
For raised strawberry farming, the choice of cultivation medium is crucial. Ideal substrates should be non-decomposing, lightweight, moisture-retaining, and aerated. Common materials include coconut coir, bark, mushroom residue, distiller’s grain, and peat. Inorganic materials like perlite, vermiculite, and expanded clay can also be used.
Farmers can either mix their own substrates or purchase pre-made blends. The key is to create a growing medium that supports healthy root development while maintaining proper moisture and nutrient levels.
Proper nutrient management is essential for ensuring high-quality strawberry production. Since raised strawberry plants typically grow in a small volume of substrate, they rely heavily on nutrient solutions to provide essential nutrients. During the early growth stages, a lower concentration of nutrients is used, while higher concentrations are required during the flowering and fruiting periods.
The nutrient solution can follow popular formulas such as Yamazaki’s Formula or Japanese Garden Formula, both of which offer balanced nutrients for strawberry growth. Alternatively, farmers can use conventional fertilizers supplemented by foliar sprays for micronutrient delivery.
Due to the higher temperature and humidity levels in greenhouses, pests and diseases can be a significant issue in raised strawberry farming. Common problems include powdery mildew, grey mold, and infestations of red spiders and aphids.
· Biological control methods are increasingly used to manage pests, such as introducing natural predators like predatory mites to control spider mites, or using parasitic wasps to target aphids.
· Physical control techniques, such as using yellow-blue sticky traps to catch aphids, or applying heat treatments to kill fungal spores, are also effective.
Raised strawberry farming is undoubtedly a promising and sustainable farming practice that aligns with modern trends in agriculture, tourism, and sustainability. By improving efficiency, productivity, and product quality, it offers numerous advantages over traditional methods, including higher yields, reduced labor costs, and enhanced environmental sustainability. As more farmers adopt this method and technology continues to advance, raised strawberry farming is set to become an important part of the future of agriculture, particularly in agritourism and eco-friendly farming systems.
