- 10 



moval . In comparison of the Hill System (no plastic mulch) vs. 

 The Matted Row, the yields have been comparable. However, fruit 

 size and yield are increased by removal of excess runners from the 

 Matted Row. 



GROWING PROBLEMS 



In his discussion of growing problems. Dr. Smith was of the 

 opinion that Verticillium wilt can be controlled to some extent by 

 soil fumigation. Where Verticillium is a problem, fuirigation be- 

 fore starting a new strawberry bed was recommended. Furthermore, 

 strawberries should not follow eggplants, potatoes, tomatoes and 

 other wilt-susceptible crops. Winter injury can be more of a prob- 

 lem than most growers realize. Temperatures as high as 28°F. can 

 cause internal browning of the crown and reduction in yield. Earl- 

 ier mulching before the occurrence of such temperatures was advo- 

 cated by Dr. Smith. 



MECHANIZATION 



There is some mechanization of the New Jersey strawberry in- 

 dustry, A mechanical pruner for the removal of excess runners does 

 a good job on a soil free of stones. Transplanting machines are 

 being used for setting plants and for harvest some growers now are 

 using a picking aid similar to the pickle harvester. With the lat- 

 ter device, the pickers lie on a platform and pick the berries as 

 the tractor-drawn platform passes over the plants. 



MARKETING STUDY 



A brief mention was made of a marketing study at Rutgers, in- 

 volving pricing of quart and pint containers. The study showed that 

 when the price is high, there is no pricing advantage of pints 

 over quarts. When the price falls, it is easier to maintain the 

 price for the pints than for the quarts of berries. 



FUTURE OF THE INDUSTRY 



Dr. Smith noted that the acreage devoted to the production of 

 strawberries in the United States is declining. He stated that 

 there will always be a place for the present "one-crop" strawberry 

 variety but he predicted a shift toward the greater use of ever- 

 bearers. This shift awaits the development of superior everbearing 

 varieties; current everbearing varieties are not suitable. 



Mechanical harvesting of strawberries is coming. The first 

 harvesters will be non-selective, requiring varieties that ripen 

 all their fruit at the same time. Machine-harvested fruit is suit- 

 able for processing but not for the fresh market. Large acreage 

 will be required to justify the cost of harvesting machines; such 

 acreages are not available to Eastern growers. What is really 

 needed is a selective harvester that will harvest ripe fruit, with- 

 out injury, for the fresh market. This machine will be longer in 

 coming and will require long season, everbearing-type varieties so 



as to provide for orderly marketing and to stabilize the labor 

 supply. 



