5 - 



Field-Crown Strawberries: June-Bearing 



Plants and varieties . About 10 million plants are sold annually 

 by the Dutch nurserymen. Of these, 7 51 are sold in the summer and 

 251 in the sprinr. The plants scld in the summer are used by grow- 

 ers for propagation beds and summer planting of production fields 

 (Figure 2). The plants delivered in the spring are mainly for home 

 gardeners and export. About 30 virus-free varieties are being 

 grown by Dutch nurserymen, but none of these varieties are grown in 

 Massachusetts . 



It is possible to harvest June-bearing strawberries, grown in 

 the field by ordinary procedures, from early June to late July. 

 The early-maturing 'Regina' variety, if mulched with black plastic, 

 can be harvested in early-June in southwestern Netherlands. 'Talis- 

 man,' a late-maturing variety, when planted on heavy, late soil in 

 the middle of the country, can be harvested from late June through 

 late July. 



Soils . Like Massachusetts, strawberries are grovvn on a variety of 

 soils but permeable soils with good moisture-holding capacity are 

 preferred. Often it is necessary to grow strawberries on the sam.e 

 land for many years and in these situations, soil fumigation is 

 beneficial because of the adverse effect of soil nematodes on plant 

 growth and fruiting. Generally, the soil is fumigated at least 

 once in 2 years. After fumigation, there is a 6- to 8-week delay 

 before planting. 



Fertilization . Manure is still used extensively for fertilization 

 of strawberries. This is applied at the rate of 25 to 35 tons per 

 acre; if poiiltry manure is used, half this amount is sufficient. 

 Farmyard mianures are supplemented with commercial fertilizers (com- 

 plete or nitrogenous) at planting and/or during the growing season. 



int ing . The plants are generally freshly-dug from a propagation 

 i and set in late July or early August, depending upon variety. 



Plai 



beT _ _ _._ ^ _ ^ ..„„___, _., „ _,_.. , 



The planting distances are generally 13 inches in the row and 40 

 inches between rows. Double rows with plant spacings of 13 inches 

 by 22 inches with 38-inch alleys also can be seen. Sprinkler- irri- 

 gation is indispensable with summer planting. 



Pest and weed control . Gray mold, blossom weevils, wireworms, red 

 mites , red stele, and verticillum wilt are insect and disease prob- 

 lems which concern the Dutch strawberry grower. Control methods 

 and those for v;eeds are, in general, similar to those used in Mass- 

 achusetts. 



Winter protection . Mulch is seldom applied for frost protection 

 in winter but there are times when 2.5 to 3.0 tons of straw per 

 acre would be beneficial. However, straw is applied in the spring 

 to keep the berries cleaner. 



