Effects Of The Elevated Cultivation And Straw Substrate On Strawberry Production

The background of this research is associated with the problems in strawberry conventional production in China as follows, large workload, high labor intensity, low fruit quality, high irregular fruit rate, high pesticide residue, low level of operations management and so on. To find appropriate cultivation mode for strawberry soilless culture, one kind of elevated cultivation groove was designed that the groove was placed on a 70 cm high frame. The elevated cultivation bag that the cultivation bag was placed on a 70 cm high frame was taken as the control, and it has been widely used in Japan. Taking the strawberry cultivar'Toyonoka'as the research material, effects of the two different cultivation models on vegetative growth, physiological characteristics, yield and quality of strawberry was studied. Meanwhile, the research took straw compost and slag to make strawberry substrate, and effects of the substrate on vegetative growth, physiological characteristics, yield and quality of strawberry and the variation of physical and chemical characteristics of the substrate during the cultivation was studied. This research also hope to provide reliable basis for making good use of sraw compost on soilless culture. The main results are as follows:1. The elevated cultivation groove designed in this study achieves good yield and fruit quality of strawberry, the date of fruit maturity is 8 days earlier, and its total yield in January, February and March is 3.5% higher than the control. In this study, the net income of the elevated cultivation groove in a solar greenhouse with a production area of 667 m2 is 21,565.7 yuan per year, and is 1,696.7 yuan higher than the control's. While its cost is 4,767.9 yuan and saves 1,558.6 yuan compared to the control.2. During the cultivation, the physical characteristics of straw substrate change apparently. When straw compost alone as the strawberry substrate (100% straw substrate trentment) , its physical properties change significantly at 3 months after planting. while they happen at 4 months after planting in the trentments of the straw substrate added 30% and 40% slag. In the end of the cultivation, the bulk density of 100% straw substrate increases by 28.1%, and total porosity, aeration porosity and water retained porosity increases by 31.2%, 46.9% and 8.2% respectively. The physical properties of the straw substrate added slag change similarily. In the end of the cultivation, the bulk density of the trentments of straw substrate added 30% and 40% slag increases by 21% and 20%, and total porosity decreases by 26.1% and 24.5% respectively compared to the beginning of the cultivation. The aeration porosity and water retained porosity of straw substrate added slag presents a scale-down trend during the cultivation. The aeration porosity of straw substrate added 40% slag is higher than the straw substrate added 30% slag, while its water retained porosity is lower.3. In the trentment of 100% straw substrate, the growth condition of strawberry has been weakening since 3 months after planting, while it happenes at 4 months after planting in the trentments of the straw substrate added 30% and 40% slag. Compared with the treatment of straw substrate added 30% slag, the strawberry growth condition of the treatment of straw substrate added 40% slag is weaker and its growth potential declines more quickly.4. The yield in straw substrate trentments is higher than the control in the first month of the yielding period, but lower in the rest months of the yielding period, and the yield gap become wider and wider with the advance of the cultivation. The total yield of the trentment of 100% straw substrate decreses by 34.7% than the control, while the total yield of the trentments of the straw substrate added 30% and 40% slag decreses by 25.8% and 30.9% respectively than the control.5. Among of the straw substrate trentments, the fruit quality of strawberry in the earlier stage of the harvest is better than the later period. The fruit quality indexs in the trentment of 100% straw substrate like soluble protein, Vc, soluble solids and soluble sugar content at 3 months after planting are higher, and then they begin to be lower than the control. However, the ripe fruit quality in the trentments of straw substrate added slag at 90 and 120 days after planting is better than the control, and then declines and begins to be worse than the control. Compared with the fruit quality of strawberry in the treatments of straw substrate added 40% slag, the fruit quality in the treatment of straw substrate added 30% slag is better.