Water Use, Yield, and Crop Coeffiecients for Stawberries (Fragaria x annanasa D.).

Abstract

Strawberry plants (Fragaria x annanasa D.) were grown in drip irrigated plots covered with gray/black plastic mulch at the Campus Agricultural Center, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ. During the 1993-94 season varieties Chandler and Oso Grande were grown while in the 1994-95 season varieties Chandler and Selva were grown. Crop coefficients to estimate crop evapotranspiration for Chandler were determined on calendar day and growing degree day (GDD) basis. For the harvest period, the crop coefficients ranged from 0.35 for early March to 0.6 for early June. GDD were computed using 6 °C as the base temperature and 26 °C as the upper threshold temperature. Although GDD is useful to estimate water needs, it did not predict the starting date of harvest because other factors such as day length, transplanting date, and chilling period are involved. In the 1994-95 season, dry, medium and wet irrigation treatments were established for the Chandler. The well irrigated plants yielded 328 g/plant, equivalent to 21.2 metric tons/ha. The dry treatment received 33 % less water than the medium treatment and resulted 25% less yield. There were no statistical differences in yield between the medium and wet treatments, although the wet treatment received 33% more water than the medium treatment. The Oso Grande and Selva were tested and they yielded 46 and 22% less than Chandler, respectively. The harvest period extended for 70 to 100 days and premium size berries were produced during the first half of the harvesting season.