Factors contributing to sustainable strawberry production : AAB poster

In the UK strawberry production is very intensive , over the last 20 years yield has doubled and the harvest period greatly extended whilst the area used by the crop has been reduced . This rise in yield per hectare has been achieved by precision use of varieties, fertilizers, irrigation, polythene tunnels and pesticides. The challenge now is to improve long term sustainability of production whilst maintaining yield. The most important yield threatening disease of strawberry is powdery mildew caused by Podospheara aphanis. The work reported here assessed the use of silicon as a nutrient in contributing to delayed epidemic buildup and assessed the green house gas emissions associated with the fungicides used to control the disease. The use of wild pollinators of the strawberry crop is also evaluated as a major contribution to sustainability when compared to the more normal practice of buying in pollinators.