Initial Crown Diameter of Strawberry Bare-root Transplants Affects Early and Total Fruit Yield

Abstract

The standard strawberry (Fragaria ×ananassa) production system in Florida uses bare-root transplants with three to five leaves; however, commercial transplants are typically variable in size. The objective of this experiment was to study the effects of transplant crown diameter on the subsequent performance of three short-day strawberry cultivars under central Florida conditions. Trials were carried out during the 2012–13 and 2013–14 growing seasons with six treatments resulting from the combination of three cultivars and two crown diameter categories. Transplants of ‘Florida Radiance’, ‘Strawberry Festival’, and WinterStar™ were sorted into two initial crown diameter size ranges: <10 mm and >10 mm. Treatments were established in a split-plot design with cultivars as the main plot and four replications. Dry plant biomass was collected at 6 weeks after transplant (WAT). Canopy diameter and crown diameter were measured at 6 and 18 WAT and fruit harvest started at 8 WAT. There were no interactions between cultivar and initial crown diameter for any of the measured variables. For early yield, larger crowns led to 46% (3.5 Mg·ha−1) and 38% (3.9 Mg·ha−1) higher early yield than smaller crowns in 2012–13 and 2013–14, respectively. Crown diameters >10 mm also resulted in 18% (23.5 Mg·ha−1) and 27% (17.4 Mg·ha−1) higher total yields in 2012–13 and 2013–14, respectively.