Fruit - Strawberry "special quality yield, early maturity & Health"

Study Investigator: John Curtis, PhD

Location of Study: Seffner, FL USA, Open field

Study Period: December 2016 - February 2017

[T1] Main Program for this trial | Foliar Application

Total program takes 42 days. DA means Days After

App 1

0.5 Pint/Acre

First flowering

App 2

0.5 Pint/Acre

7 DA App 1

App 3

0.5 Pint/Acre

7 DA App 2

App 4

0.5 Pint/Acre

7 DA App 3

App 5

0.5 Pint/Acre

7 DA App 4

App 6

0.5 Pint/Acre

7 DA App 5

App 7

0.5 Pint/Acre

7 DA App 6

 

 

TREATMENTS
  • • [T0]: Grower Standard (GS)
  • • [T1]: GS + VEGRO ®

 

 

PROGRAMS: (For this trial)
  • • Foliar applications
  • • 7 applications @ 0.5 pint/acre (every 7 days)
  • • Total program: 3.5 pints or 1.75 quarts or 0.437 gallons total program per acre.

Standard program with VEGRO® for strawberry is usually 1 pint/acre/application.

 

 

APPLICATIONS FOR THIS TRIAL:

7 applications:

• 12/10/16 (A);

• 12/16/16 (B);

• 12/23/16 (C);

• 12/30/16 (D);

• 1/6/17 (E);

• 1/16/17 (F);

• 1/24/17 (G)

 

 

AGRONOMIC PROTOCOL
  • Start date: Sept. 2016
  • Completion date: Feb. 2017
  • 8-week treatment (2 months)
  • Study conducted in Florida by John Curtis, PhD (Better Crops LLC) from September 2016 to February 2017 in open field.
  • Plants were staked and maintained at a commercial level with fertilizer/insecticide/fungicide (liquid fertilizer through drip every other day).
  • Trial reliability: HIGH

 

 

METHODOLOGY
  • Plastic beds (28-inch top, 7 inches tall, 12-inch emitter tape) were prepared on a 4-foot row spacing. 
  • Strawberries (cv. Radiant) were planted on 10-05-2016 in two (2) rows/bed (14-inch plant spacing).
  • Each plot was 30 feet in length x 2 beds (30 feet length x 8 feet width)
  • Each treatment was replicated four (4) times.

 

 

EVALUATION (Fruit count & weight)
  • 6 Harvests
  • At each evaluation date, fruit data was converted into lbs. per acre as well as FLATS per acre.
  • A FLAT is a standard measuring unit for strawberry growers in Florida.
  • 1 FLAT = 9 lbs. Each FLAT contains 8 Clam Shells that weigh 1 1/8 lbs.
  • A clam shell is the finished product for consumers.

 The total yield (harvests 1-6) at 10 DAG (days after G appl.)in both lbs./acre and flats/acre.

 

 

AGRICULTURAL SPECIFICITIES:
  • Planting rate: 18,615 per acre
  • Planting method: TRAHAN
  • Row spacing: 4 feet
  • Spacing within row: 14 inches
  • Soil moisture: normal
  • Seed bed: medium

 

 

PHYTOTOXICITY:
  • Plants in each plot were examined for signs of phytotoxicity (stunting, discoloration etc.) at 10 DAG (10 days After G App) using a 0-100% rating scale; 0 = no phytotoxicity and 100% = dead plants.
  • Plants were examined for signs of phytotoxicity (stunting, discoloration etc.) at 5 DAF using a 0-100% rating scale.
  • Results obtained are stunning and this requires further agronomic trials. (in process 2017/18)

Study Results

+20%

Extra Quality yield/acre when Vegro® (T1) is added to GS

+619 pcs

Extra Pieces of berry/acre collected when Vegro® (T1) added to GS

+33 lbs

Of extra weight (Lbs) when Vegro® (T1) added to GS

+18%

Extra weight count/acre when Vegro® (T1) added to GS

+4 flats

Full flats with Vegro® (out of the 6 picks of the trial)

+43%

Early maturity with Vegro® (three first harvests)

+72%

Early maturity with Vegro® on harvest #3

++

Uniform size berries with Vegro®

++

Healthier with Vegro®

0%

With Vegro® zero Phyto-toxicity

99.8%

Natural

++

Help to reduce chemical inputs

Quality yield:

  • +20% Average quality yield with Vegro®
  • +4 full flats (out of the 6 harvests)
  • ++ Uniform size berries

Early maturity:

  • 6 Harvests crop total
  • +43% early maturity with Vegro® over the 3 first harvests (50%)
  • +72% with Vegro® on the 3rd harvest

Health:

  • Because of some observations made on the treated area with Vegro®, it has been decided to launch an agronomic study on Botrytis and Powdery Mildew.
  • Treated area showed a better natural resistance to the pressure disease and more particularly to fungus diseases.
  • It has been noticed a very uniform and consistent balance between fruit-set and vegetation.

Notes:

  • The study for Botrytis and Powdery mildew took place in 2017-18 and has been released in August 2018.
  • Stay tune, the results of this study will be soon online
  • Another study on strawberry has been achieved in California with prestigious Phd agronomist and grower. Study completed and will be soon online as well.

 

Objectives: Evaluate the interest of VEGRO® for quality yield, health and early maturity

For a better view of the graphs and charts, reposition your mobile device into landscape mode.

Variety Used: Radiant

Results with VEGRO® (in fruit count)

• [H] for number of harvests
• [T] for treatments
• [Tot] for total cumulated data

Six harvests: In fruit count, VEGRO® shows best results with +20% (Average over the 6 harvests). Third harvest shows a striking +72% increase. It is also very noticeable that the highest increases occur on early harvests (H1, H2 & H3) which represents not less than 50% of the 6 harvest total considered for this trial.

Results with VEGRO® (in weigh count)

• [H] for number of harvests
• [T] for treatments
• [Tot] for total cumulated data

Six harvests: In fruit count, VEGRO® shows best results with +20% (Average over the 6 harvests). Third harvest shows a striking +72% increase. It is also very noticeable that the highest increases occur on early harvests (H1, H2 & H3) which represents not less than 50% of the total harvests for this crop.

More Early fruits = more revenues

+43%

Early maturity H1,H2,H3

Compared to the Grower Std [T0] and over the first three harvests, we obtained a significant 43% increase (red slices) with more early fruits ready to be picked and marketed.

Agronomic results Strawberry | +4 FLATS/ACRE

• A flat is a standard measuring unit for strawberry growers in Florida. 1 FLAT is 9 lbs. In each flat, there are 8 “clam shells” that each weigh 1 1/8 lbs. A “clam shell” is the unit filled for the consumer.
• [H] for number of harvests
• [T] for treatments
• [Tot] for total cumulated data

RESULTS with VEGRO® Generates a total yield of + 4 FULL FLATS out of the 6 related picks.