Strawberry Waiting-bed Plants: A Valid Alternative to Increase Early and Total Yields in Subtropical Regions

Abstract

Strawberry (Fragaria xananassa Duch.) production in subtropical areas is characterized by a low late-fall and early winter fruit yield, a time when the value of the crop is the highest of the season. Under this context, the objective of the present study was to evaluate the feasibility of waiting-bed plants for late fall and early winter production in order to increase early and total fruit yields in the Argentine sub-tropic. Plants of the cultivar `Chandler' produced in a waiting-bed (WB), at high-latitude (HL), high-altitude (HA), or low-altitude (LA) were compared at two locations in Tucuman, NW Argentina: Famailla (1995, experiment 1; 1996, experiment 2) and Lules (1995, experiment 3). Total production from WB plants was 41% higher than from HA plants in experiment 1. Total production from WB plants was 83 % and 53 % greater than from HL plants and LA plants, respectively, in experiment 2. Early season fruit production was greater in WB (241%) than HL plants in experiment 2. In experiment 3, early fruit production from WB plants was greater than HL, HA, and LA, by 573, 177, and 158%, respectively. The number of marketable fruit from WB plants was larger than in the other treatments (139-231%). WB percentages of marketable fruit were above 90%. The results suggest that WB plants could be considered as an alternative to HL, HA, and LA plants to improve strawberry production and yield distribution in South American subtropical regions.