Sustainable farming practices for strawberries align with the umbrella sustainable agriculture code defined by Congress. The definition identifies sustainable agriculture as integrated production practices with site-specific applications and the following long-haul goals:
- Satisfying human food/fiber needs
- Enhancing environmental and natural resources that support the agricultural economy
- Using nonrenewable resources efficiently, utilizing natural biological controls and cycles
- Sustaining the economic viability of the farming activities
- Improving farmer and community quality of life
Sustainable Farming Practices for Strawberry Farming
Strawberry farmers in California and other regions implement various sustainable practices, including site and soil management, integrated pest management, and weed control. Here’s an overview of the popular sustainable farming practices the current generation of strawberry farmers use:
Soil Management
Farming land is scarce, and soil nutrients that support farming need to be improved. To keep yields consistent and align with sustainable practices, strawberry farmers optimize their farms for production. This is accomplished through proper site preparation, optimized drainage, pH testing and adjustments, and annual crop rotations.
Tests and preparations help to optimize soil fertility, water use, and pest control. Strawberry farmers also use compost, proper timing and seeding rates, summer cover crops, and beneficial soil inoculants. Soil inoculants reestablish good microbes. Here are more soil management practices CA farmers have used to supply nearly all US-grown strawberries for decades:
- Applying organic fertilizer and mulch to increase soil organic matter
- Testing plant tissue and soil for nutrients to reduce or increase fertilizer use
- Proper and timely compost incorporation to improve nutrient availability
- Calculating nitrogen addition requirements to prevent plant burning
- Using well-researched and refined schedules and practices
- Pest Management
Strawberry farmers use integrated pest management (IPM) strategies to reduce the population of pests. IPM involves various approaches, including maintaining healthy crops, weekly scouting, and timely treatment. The goal is to consider biological, physical, and cultural pest control before using chemical fertilizers.
Farmers choose disease-resistant plant varieties for the site, test and enrich the soil and follow refined irrigation schedules to grow healthy plants. Sick/infested plants are physically removed during inspections, which also reveal the best time to treat the strawberries. Here are more pest management practices used in strawberry farming:
- Introducing predatory mites to kill Lewis mites and two-spotted mites
- Using light traps to control lepidopteran pests
- Rotating crops to reduce resistance and manage pest populations
- Planting broccoli and other summer crops to counter soilborne diseases
Weed Control
Weeds take up nutrients that would otherwise be available for strawberries. Farmers use cover crops, hand-weeding, spot spraying, herbicides, and string trimming. Cover crops can suppress seasonal weeds and resist soilborne pathogens. Winter cover crops are planted before planting to reduce winter weeds, while summer cover crops suppress summer weeds.
Hand weeding physically removes the weeds from the farm. This can be done during the regular scouting for diseases and pests. String trimmers can help farmers identify the optimal stage to cut weeds for maximum suppression. Pre-emergent and post-emergent herbicides also help to suppress weed growth. Here are more weed control practices:
- Rotating strawberries with annual crops to introduce tillage and weed competition
- Using straw mulch plastic and landscape fabric to suppress and kill some weeds
- Depleting weed seedbanks with a false/stale seedbed before planting strawberries
- Using flame weeding to remove annual weeds as soon as they appear
Key Takeaways About Sustainable Farming for Strawberries
Strawberries are grown throughout the year in California, where less than one percent of the farmland produces the majority of the US-grown supply. To meet this demand, strawberry farmers use integrated and sustainable farming practices. The top priorities are increasing yields, soil building, pest control, and efficient water use. Sustainable strawberry farming also involves growing organic plants and reducing the use of fertilizer, fumigation, herbicides, and other chemicals. Farmers also invest in research to identify new sustainable solutions.