Season Extension of Strawberry and Raspberry Production Using High Tunnels
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Utah State University DigitalCommons@USU All Graduate Theses and Dissertations Graduate Studies 8-2010 Season Extension of Strawberry and Raspberry Production Using High Tunnels Daniel R. Rowley Utah State University Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.usu.edu/etd Part of the Horticulture Commons Recommended Citation Rowley, Daniel R., "Season Extension of Strawberry and Raspberry Production Using High Tunnels" (2010). All Graduate Theses and Dissertations. 716. https://digitalcommons.usu.edu/etd/716 This Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by the Graduate Studies at DigitalCommons@USU. It has been accepted for inclusion in All Graduate Theses and Dissertations by an authorized administrator of DigitalCommons@USU. For more information, please contact [email protected]. SEASON EXTENSION OF STRAWBERRY AND RASPBERRY PRODUCTION USING HIGH TUNNELS by Daniel Rowley A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of MASTER OF SCIENCE in Plant Science Approved: _________________________ _________________________ Brent Black, Ph.D. Dan Drost, Ph.D. Major Professor Committee Member _________________________ _________________________ Dillon Feuz, Ph.D. Byron R. Burnham Committee Member Dean of Graduate Studies UTAH STATE UNIVERSITY Logan, Utah 2010 ii Copyright © Daniel Rowley 2010 All Rights Reserved iii ABSTRACT Season Extension of Strawberry and Raspberry Production using High Tunnels by Daniel Rowley, Master of Science Utah State University, 2010 Major Professor: Dr. Brent Black Department: Plants, Soils, and Climate High tunnels have been used successfully in many areas of the world to extend the growing season for numerous crops. However, very little research has been conducted to evaluate the season extension benefits offered by high tunnels to small fruit crops in high elevation growing areas such as the Intermountain West region of the United States. The use of high tunnels was investigated in North Logan, Utah (41.766 N latitude, 1405 m elevation, 119 freeze free days) to extend the growing season for both strawberries and raspberries. June- bearing ‘Chandler’ strawberries in a fall-planted annual hill system were evaluated for early season production. High tunnels advanced spring strawberry production by approximately 3 weeks compared to field-grown plants. High tunnels were used for earlier planting and growth in a spring-planted day-neutral strawberry system. Day-neutral cultivars (‘Albion’, ‘Seascape’, ‘Evie 2’, and ‘Tribute’) produced strawberries throughout the summer and into the fall with significantly higher yields from the high tunnel treatments than the field-grown plants. High tunnels also extended late-season strawberry production until mid-December. The floricane- fruiting red raspberry ‘Tulameen’ was evaluated for early season production, and primocane- iv fruiting ‘Caroline’ was evaluated for late season extension. High tunnels were unable to provide sufficient winter protection for the cold-tender ‘Tulameen’ at this location. Results from late season extension indicated that high tunnels could extend late season raspberry production by as much as three weeks. However, peak yields for ‘Caroline’ were before the first fall frost, and a later fruiting cultivar would be more suitable. In addition to research results, this thesis contains chapters on practical management considerations for commercial producers, and enterprise budgets to assist in evaluating the economic costs and returns of high tunnel strawberry and raspberry production. (189 pages) v ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I would first like to thank my wife, Liz, for her support that she has given me throughout this project. Without her encouragement I don’t know that I would have even bothered to start this project, let alone finish. She has been an awesome support and has helped keep me going. I would also like to thank my two boys, Luke and Landon, who have sacrificed their playtime with dad, as I have been working on this project. In addition to acknowledging my family, I would like to acknowledge my committee members and their help in finishing this project. They have been very patient in helping me in conducting this project as well as in reporting the results. I would especially like to acknowledge Dr. Brent Black, who has patiently read and re- read my numerous drafts. I would also like to thank James Frisby, our research technician, who has been invaluable in helping me collect data, and especially when dealing with dataloggers. I am sure that he was often frustrated with my messing them up, and my endless requests for data. Daniel Rowley vi CONTENTS Page ABSTRACT ........................................................................................................................................ iii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS ...................................................................................................................... v LIST OF TABLES ............................................................................................................................... vii LIST OF FIGURES ............................................................................................................................... x CHAPTER 1. INTRODUCTION ................................................................................................................... 1 2. EARLY SEASON STRAWBERRY EXTENSION USING JUNE-BEARING ‘CHANDLER’ IN HIGH TUNNELS ............................................................................................................................. 5 3. ENTERPRISE BUDGET FOR HIGH TUNNEL JUNE-BEARING STRAWBERRY PRODUCTION .. 44 4. LATE SEASON STRAWBERRY EXTENSION USING DAY-NEUTRAL CULTIVARS IN HIGH TUNNELS ........................................................................................................................... 54 5. ENTERPRISE BUDGET FOR HIGH TUNNEL DAY-NEUTRAL STRAWBERRY PRODUCTION ... 83 6. HIGH TUNNEL STRAWBERRY PRODUCTION (USU EXTENSION FACTSHEET) ..................... 93 7. STRAWBERRY PLUG PLANT PRODUCTION (USU EXTENSION FACTSHEET) ..................... 110 8. LATE SEASON RASPBERRY EXTENSION USING PRIMOCANE-FRUITING ‘CAROLINE IN HIGH TUNNELS ......................................................................................................................... 122 9. ENTERPRISE BUDGET FOR HIGH TUNNEL FALL RASPBERRY PRODUCTION .................... 140 10. FALL BEARING RASPBERRIES IN HIGH TUNNELS (USU EXTENSION FACTSHEET) ............ 149 11. SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONS ...................................................................................... 162 APPENDIX ..................................................................................................................................... 168 vii LIST OF TABLES Table Page 1.1 Climate comparison for selected high tunnel research areas ............................................ 4 2.1 Planting dates for June-bearing Chandler strawberry plants .......................................... 21 2.2 Effect of Fall 2007 planting date on fall runner, crown and spring runner production for the in-ground system ............................................................................... 22 2.3 Effect of Fall 2008 planting date on fall runner, crown and spring runner production for the in-ground system ............................................................................... 23 2.4 Effect of Fall 2007 planting date on early and total yields for the in-ground system ............................................................................................................................... 24 2.5 Effect of Fall 2008 planting date on early and total yields for the in-ground system ............................................................................................................................... 25 2.6 Effect of Fall 2007 planting date on early and total yields for the east/west- facing vertical system ....................................................................................................... 26 2.7 Effect of Fall 2007 planting date on early and total yields for the south-facing vertical system .................................................................................................................. 27 2.8 The effect of Fall 2007 planting date on fall runner, spring runner, and crown production for the east/west-facing vertical system........................................................ 28 2.9 The effect of Fall 2007 planting date on fall runner, spring runner, and crown production for the south-facing vertical system .............................................................. 29 2.10 The effect of Fall 2008 planting date on fall runner, spring runner, and crown production for the east/west-facing vertical system........................................................ 30 2.11 The effect of Fall 2008 planting date on early and total yields for the east/west- facing vertical system ....................................................................................................... 31 2.12 The effect of Fall 2008 planting date on fall runner, spring runner, and crown production for the south-facing vertical system .............................................................. 32 2.13 The effect of Fall 2008 planting date on early and total yields for the south- facing vertical system in 2009 ........................................................................................... 33 viii 2.14 The effect of Fall 2008 planting date on runner and crown number,