STRAWBERRY GROWING IN THE NETHERLANDS 



William J, Lord 

 Department o£ Plant and Soil Sciences 



Growing strawberries in the Netherlands has become a very in- 

 teresting but complex operation, because it employs a variety of 

 techniques that result in the production o£ fresh berries from 

 April until the first frost in the fall. To accomplish this, the 

 Dutch produce strawberries under cold frames, under plastic tunnels, 

 in moveable greenhouses, in fixed greenhouses (both heated and un- 

 heated) , as well as in the field. 



From 1950 to 1960, total strawberry plantings underwent an in- 

 crease from 8,958 acres up to 12,208 acres in response to a high 

 demand and favorable prices for this fruit. However, since 1960, 

 rapidly increasing labor costs and increasing competition from 

 other countries have forced a drastic reduction in acreage until 

 in 1974, only 6,083 acres of strawberries remained. Distribution 

 of this acreage among production styles is shown in Table 1. 



Table 1. Acreage of strawberries ripened under field conditions 



or under glass or plastic tunnels in the Netherlands, 

 1974. 



Ripened under Ripened in Ripened In 

 plastic tunnels heated cold 



Field ripened or cold frames greenhouses greenhouses 



(acres) (acres) (acres) (acres) 



5683 135 165 100 



These berries are grown mainly in southern Netherlands, and 

 about 60% of the crop is processed. Competition for Dutch berries 

 has come primarily from Italy, Belgium, and Poland. The field- 

 grown strawberries from Italy are as early, and less costly to 

 grow, as those grown and ripened under glass or plastic tunnels in 

 the Netherlands. The Belgium market was lost because growers in 

 that country increased their acreage of strawberries grown and rip- 

 ened under plastic tunnels. Poland has become a strong competitor 

 especially with field-grown strawberries for processing. 



Growing under Mobile Greenhouses, Cold Frames and Plastic Tunnels 



Harvest of strawberries can be advanced by growing and ripen- 

 ing the berries under greenhouses, cold frames and plastic tunnels. 

 The Dutch employ all these techniques. However, use of mobile green- 

 houses has now been largely replaced by use of the more economical 



