Table-top production of strawberries: Performance of six strawberry cultivars

Figures & data

Table I. The amounts of each nutrition element supplied to the trial before flowering and from flowering to harvest (µg per ml).

	Ph	N	P	K	Mg	Ca	S	Fe	Mn	B	Cu	Zn	Mo
Before flowering	5.5	150	30	150	25	145	40	1.70	2.00	0.50	0.10	0.20	0.04
Flowering to harvest	5.5	125	30	200	25	145	40	1.70	2.00	0.50	0.10	0.20	0.04

Table II. Monthly mean climatic records for the experimental site 2005 and 2006, compared with the 30-year normal from a climatic station near the experimental field (DMI).

	Temperature, °C				Precipitation, mm
Month	2005	2006	Normal 1961–1990	2005	2006	Normal 1961–1990
April	7.9	6.5	6.4	29	60	41
May	11.3	11.5	11.3	57	74	48
June	14.2	15.5	14.7	57	25	55
July	17.2	20.1	16.6	108	70	66
August	15.5	16.6	16.3	52	109	67
Average	13.2	14.0	13.1	61	68	55

Table III. Average values of solar radiation (MJ/m²/day), relative humidity (%) and temperature (°C) inside and outside the tunnel in 2005 and average values for temperature (°C) inside and outside the tunnel in 2006.

		Outside tunnel
	Tunnel		Index, tunnel = 100	Year^1
Solar radiation	2.83	3.57	126	2005
Relative humidity	72.4	75.2	104	2005
Temperature	15.0	14.4	96	2005
Temperature	18.3	17.7	97	2006
^1In 2005 measured as average values May 27 to August 5 (end of harvest) and in 2006 measured as average values May 30 to July 20 (end of harvest).

Figure 1.  Growth of cultivars in the first year of trial (2005) according to a 5-point rating (0–5, 5 best), 11 weeks after planting. Comparison between tunnel and outside tunnel is based on means of all cultivars. Comparison between cultivars is based on cultivar means of tunnel and outside tunnel growth. Columns with the same letter (comparisons tunnel-outside or within cultivars) are not significantly different.

Table IV. Marketable yield (kg/m² and % of total yield) during the first and second year of harvest. Results with the same letter within years are not significantly different.

	Marketable yield*
	kg/m^2		% of total yield
Cultivar	2005	2006	2005	2006
Honeoye	0.90c	1.40c	97	92
Elsanta	1.64a	1.99ab	91	94
Florence	0.82c	1.85b	95	98
Sonata	1.55a	2.30a	90	95
Alice	1.17b	2.07ab	87	95
Babette	1.02bc	1.31c	95	82
Average outside tunnel	1.10a	1.97a	88	94
Average in the tunnel	1.27a	1.65b	96	92
* All results per cultivar are combined results for both inside and outside the tunnel.

Table V. Fruit size in the first and second years of harvest (g/fruit). Results with the same letter within years are not significantly different.

	Fruit size (g/fruit)
Cultivar	2005	2006	2006, % of 2005
Honeoye	17.2b	12.5ab	73
Elsanta	18.6ab	11.0b	59
Florence	18.4ab	12.0ab	65
Sonata	17.3b	12.8ab	74
Alice	19.8a	14.5a	73
Babette	19.4a	13.3ab	69
Average outside tunnel	18.4a	12.5a	68
Average in the tunnel	18.5a	12.9a	70

Table VI. Fruit quality characteristics (colour, brightness and firmness) during the first and second years of harvest. Rating 1–9, 9 darkest (colour), most bright or most firm. Results with the same letter within years are not significantly different.

	Fruit colour		Brightness		Firmness
Cultivar	2005	2006	2005	2006	2005	2006
Honeoye	5.5a	5.6b	4.6b	5.1de	3.0d	5.1c
Elsanta	3.4c	4.5c	5.4a	5.8bc	4.3bc	6.3ab
Florence	5.0b	5.7b	5.8a	4.9de	4.9a	5.9b
Sonata	3.2c	4.5c	5.6a	5.4cd	3.9c	6.1ab
Alice	3.3c	3.6d	5.8a	6.5ab	4.6ab	6.5a
Babette	5.9a	6.3a	5.8a	4.6e	3.4d	5.0c
Average outside tunnel	4.5a	4.9a	4.5a	6.0a	4.4a	5.9a
Average inside tunnel	4.0b	5.1b	5.5b	4.9b	4.1a	5.7a