This is the website of Luigi's Yard Services, the landscape component of Manrique International Agrotech (MIAT). MIAT is an international company specialized in tropical agriculture. MIAT publishes books on potato, cassava, sweet potato, taro, and other tropical crops.

Fruits

Strawberries
Strawberries are perennial herbs comprising perhaps 20 species of the genera Fragaria (family Rosaceae). They are mainly found in temperate climates; in South America, species such as the F. chiloensis are found southward of the Patagonia.
The most common cultivated species are F. chiloensis, F. moschata, F. vesca, and F. virginiana. In general, strawberry cultivars are grouped as June-bearers, ever-bearers, or day neutral based on their day-length response. June-bearers are classified as facultative short day cultivars but their flower bud formation can occur under long days if temperatures are below 16 oC. Ever-bearers are classified as long day plants because they initiate flower buds primarily when days are longer than 12 h.
Flower initiation and runner formation in strawberries are controlled by day-length while runner production and flowering are controlled by light intensity. Increasing light intensity is reported to (i) increase runner production and reduce flowering, (ii) shorten the time to flowering, and (iii) increase the number of inflorescences and the number of flowers per inflorescence.
On the effects of shading, research indicates that 60% shading during the active running period results in yield increase the following spring by 12% to 17%, shading throughout the whole season results in 18% to 46% yield reduction, and shading during the fruiting period results in 13 to 27% yield reduction. Apparently, yield gains from 60% shading during the running period are related to beneficial effects stemming from reduced air and soil temperature.
The response of strawberries to N fertilization is not well defined partly due to the complex relationship between vegetative and reproductive development. Vegetative growth in some instances appears to be antagonistic to reproductive growth and increased plant size with increasing N application is not always conducive to greater fruit yields. In addition, cultivars show a differential response to applied N. For example, on the effects of N levels (from 300 to 4,800 mg/l), N improved flower production in all three cultivars of Fragaria ananassa Duch and maximum number of flowers per plant was attained at about 2,400 mg N/l.
Under field conditions, several agronomic practices (i.e., hilling, mulching, and irrigation) are used to enhance strawberry growth and production. Both mulching and irrigation, particularly drip irrigation, have shown to increase strawberry production. Mulch appears to enhance growth because of high soil temperatures and improved water availability while drip irrigation applied to maintain a soil water tension of 50 kPa appears to increase flower and fruit number and fruit yield.
References
Manrique, L.A. 1993. Greenhouse crops: A review. J. Plant Nutrition 16:2411-2477.
Manrique, L.A. 1994. Technology for greenhouse systems. Manrique International Agrotech, Honolulu, HI. 263p.

Luigi's
P.O. Box 61145
Honolulu, HI 96839
Phone: (808) 285-3128 (cell)
Phone: (808) 732-4986
http://www.lava.net/manrique/luigi.htm

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