Research
Teagasc has a proud history of supporting the soft fruit industry in Ireland. Today the soft fruit industry continues to boom. We are continuing to support research and development in the sector. This work will continue at the new state of the art glasshouse facility in the Teagasc centre in Ashtown, County Dublin.
Establishing a production system for the new strawberry cultivar 'Malling Centenary'
The soft fruit business in Ireland continues to thrive. The industry has grown from €6 million in 2000 to approximately €50 million euro at present. The soft fruit season now runs for 8 months (compared to 6 weeks in 1990). Over 95 percent of crops are grown under protection. Large on-farm investments in new technologies have led to big increases in both productivity and efficiency. Growers are continually looking out for new ways to continue to improve both productivity and efficiency.
The most popular strawberry cultivar grown in Ireland up until recently was the Dutch short-day (SD) strawberry cultivar 'Elsanta'. Recently a new SD strawberry cultivar has entered the Irish market. 'Malling Centenary' bred by East Malling Research (EMR), Kent, the UK has now replaced 'Elsanta' as the number one strawberry grown cultivar here.
There is a shortage of knowledge in relation to this new SD cultivar. The current work is focused on looking at a number of factors. These include for example looking at the nutritional requirements of the crop, the effect of planting date and plant density on subsequent yields and cropping profiles.
The cultivar does not behave like a typical SD plant due to the complex nature of its genetic makeup. Under certain environmental conditions, the plant seems to show cropping characteristics similar to long-day strawberry cultivars. These factors are also being investigated.
The research is taking place in our new state of the art glasshouses facilities in North Dublin. The two photos shown below show the crop growing on a state of the art hanging 'gutter' system.
Results from this research:
Improving irrigation scheduling for strawberries
Strawberry tray plants grown in small volume peat-filled containers require careful irrigation management. At present Irish strawberry, growers irrigate manually or using a simple timer. This may result in sub-optimal irrigation.
The aim of this experiment was to study the use of soil moisture sensors (SM 150’s- Delta-T Devices) placed in the growing medium, to control the scheduling of irrigation. A crop of ‘Elsanta’ strawberry was grown in a peat substrate in a cold glasshouse over two seasons. Each soil moisture sensor was wired back to a data-logging unit (GP1 Data Logger-Delta-T Devices). A portable PC running a data interface was used to connect to the data logger(s).
This allows the user to control irrigation parameters. Three irrigation threshold levels were used. These were based on the percentage of volumetric water content as measured by the sensors. These thresholds were 40-45%, 45-50%, and 50-55%. All irrigation was supplied by a drip line irrigation system.
The yield and fruit quality were significantly higher in the 50-55% water treatment. Plants grown in the 40-45% treatment were prone to plant wilting due to higher salinity levels. The irrigation control system worked well. The software needs to be simplified for industry use.
Managing bumblebee imports to maintain pollinator diversity and increase efficiency in horticultural production
The risks associated with the importation of bumblebee colonies for pollination of horticultural crops were not fully known. This research has shown the practice poses serious risks to native bumblebee populations and possibly biodiversity. Drift from imported colonies poses a significant disease transmission and hybridisation risk. Due to these risks new bumblebee pollinator management practices have now been developed. New legislation governing the importation and use of these hives is also been introduced due to the significant findings from this research.
- Managing Bumblebee Imports to Maintain Pollinator Diversity (PDF)
- Trends in Commercially Reared Bumblebee Importation for Pollination in Ireland (PDF)
- Managing bumblebee imports to maintain pollinator diversity and increase efficiency in horticultural production (PDF)
- Bee Aware ( Advice for growers in 'Today's Farm') (PDF)
Improving strawberry tray plant technology in Ireland.
This project looked at improving the technology involved in the production of high-quality strawberry tray plants.
As a result of this research, a number of new strawberry ‘tray plant’ nurseries were set up to supply the home market. Yields, fruit quality, and stock quality are also excellent.
For inquiries about any of the research above please contact: Dr.Eamonn Kehoe, Teagasc.
eamonn.kehoe@teagasc.ie