Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
the beds are covered with a polythene mulch to suppress weed growth and manipu-
late timing of production.
Depending on the cultivar and production system used, plants may be cropped
once, twice or three times (in the case of soil-grown crops).
Problems
The two major problems faced by commercial growers are the cost of
labour and the control of diseases, invertebrate pests and weeds. Strawberry produc-
tion is labour-intensive and high labour costs are a particular problem for growers
in USA and western Europe. This has been a driver for the adoption of production
systems that increase harvesting speeds, such as 'table-top' growing.
A vast number of diseases and invertebrate pests threaten production across the
world. The exact nature and species of these varies according to the local climate.
Of most concern are fungal root diseases caused by
Phytophthora, Verticillium,
Fusarium, Pythium
and
Rhizoctonia
. Fungal and bacterial diseases of the leaves
and fruit incur great expense to gain control and viral diseases can cause significant
yield and revenue loss.
Of the invertebrate pests, weevils, capsid bugs, thrips, mites, aphids and nema-
todes give rise to the most serious crop losses across the world, although the spotted
wing fruit fly (
Drosophila suzukii
) is a relatively new pest of strawberry which
can lead to serious reductions in marketable yield (Dean et al.
2012
). Considerable
progress is being made across the world in developing novel techniques for control-
ling many of these invertebrate pests, particularly using biological control methods.
Many of these are now used on a commercial scale, thus reducing the dependence
on traditional crop protection products.
Future Challenges and Opportunities
Consumption of fresh strawberries looks likely to continue to increase, with strong
demand in countries that have experienced rapid economic growth in recent times,
such as China, Russia, Brazil and India. Strawberries can be available throughout
the year, so are no longer considered a seasonal crop by consumers and are popular
because they are considered to be a healthy food that is affordable, pleasant to eat
and requires minimal preparation. The challenge facing producers will be to meet
the increasing demand in a sustainable and cost-effective way. Currently all straw-
berries for dessert use are harvested by hand and in most cases this is the largest
cost of production. Many countries currently rely on migrant labour for harvesting
but there is also a trend for production to move to countries where labour costs
are lower, although these are inevitably further away from the main markets and
strawberries are a perishable product. This model is not sustainable and it is likely
that robotic harvesting will become a reality in future, particularly for strawberries
grown in glasshouses or permanent polytunnels. Prototype harvesters have already
been developed and tested in Japan, China, USA and Europe (Feng et al.
2012
;
Hayashi et al.
2010
).
