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New Resources Help Farmers
Digital Thermometer a Useful Tool for Frost Protection
Dr. Barclay Poling, small fruits specialist with N.C. State University, features two new videos for farmers.
In Digital Thermometer, he explains how this device can be used for managing frost protection in strawberries.
In Strawberry Roots, he explains how to detect whether a plant has been injured by a winter freeze.
NC State and NC Dept. of Agriculture Research Yields a Sweetheart for North Carolina
Locally Grown winter strawberry crop could result in new markets for NC.
North Carolina Research Campus, Kannapolis Feb. 6, 2009Nestled among the rolling hills of the Piedmont Research Station in Rowan County, just nine miles west of Salisbury, are high tunnel greenhouses that in the dead of winter are teeming with fresh, vine-ripened strawberries. The high-tunnel research project could result in a new winter crop for North Carolina farmers.
The project resulted from a trip to England and Spain several years ago when Dr. Jim Ballington, NC State University small fruits breeder, saw the use of high tunnels for small fruits production and realized it provided potential for North Carolina. With a grant from the N.C. Rural Development Foundation, he teamed up with Dr. Barclay Poling, NC State University strawberry specialist, Andy Myers, research operations manager and Joanne Mowery, research specialist, both at the Piedmont Research Station, along with NC State economist Dr. Charles Safley, to explore whether winter strawberry production might be a profitable enterprise for North Carolina farmers.
The high tunnels are 150-foot-long, greenhouse-like structures with rounded tops covered with polyethylene plastic. For the past three years, the research team has studied the cultural requirements such as cultivars, ideal planting dates, winter freeze protection, profit potential and how much yield is possible from late October through mid-April. After the recent dip in temperatures to 5 degrees, the plants continued to thrive.
“The Salisbury location in the central part of the state seemed the ideal location,” said Ballington. “We can’t go year-round in any one location in the state to produce strawberries but we do have the potential to produce strawberries somewhere in the state at least 10 months of the year. This has worked better than we expected and has the potential to put North Carolina farmers in a more competitive position to increase strawberry production in the state.”
‘Strawberry Festival’, a Florida variety, turned out to be the favored cultivar in the high tunnels due to its consistent production of high quality fruit,” said Poling. “This variety with its plump, beautiful fruit and six- to eight-inch stem makes it popular for stem berry packs, which get the best price in the strawberry market. This is a popular berry for Valentine’s Day, perfect for dipping in chocolate.”
Improving the productivity and nutritional quality of the berries will be among the next steps the research team will undertake. To strengthen these aspects of the work, they’ve enlisted Dr. Jeremy Pattison, one of the new faculty members with the NC State University Plants for Human Health Institute at the new North Carolina Research Campus in Kannapolis.
“The research team at Salisbury has shown that high tunnel winter strawberry production in the North Carolina Piedmont is a reality,” said Pattison. “However, this system has its challenges – short day lengths and extreme fluctuating temperatures – and we are starting to reexamine how the strawberry plant grows and allocates energy to various plant parts in order to increase production.”
The team is also determining how to move the research into “real world” application by assisting local farmers in establishing high-tunnel operations as part of their current farm enterprises.
“High tunnel production systems can offer growers an alternative growing system and consequently a new marketing alternative,” said Dr. Charles Safley, NC State University economist. “However, these production systems can be expensive. The results of this study will serve as a guide to assist growers who are either considering high tunnel strawberry production or those who are currently growing strawberries in high tunnels to make more informed business management decisions.”
Myers, with the Piedmont Research Station, said, “It is very exciting to be working on a project that could lead to a new industry for North Carolina. The Piedmont Research Station is proud to be working with such a talented team of professionals.”
Media Contacts: Dr. Jim Ballington, NC State University small fruits breeder, 919-618-9342 or jim_ballington@ncsu.edu; Andy Myers, NCDA research operations manager at 704-278-2624 or andy.myers@ncagr.gov; Dr. Jeremy Pattison, NC State University strawberry breeder at 704-250-5410 or 704-787-3407 or jeremy_pattison@ncsu.edu; Dr. Barclay Poling, NC State University strawberry specialist at 919-418-9687 or barclay_poling@ncsu.edu; Dr. Charles Safley, NC State University economist at 919-515-4538 or charles_safley@ncsu.edu
Contact: If you’re interested in interviewing the researchers and visiting the high tunnel research project, feel free to contact them directly or, for assistance, contact Leah Chester-Davis, Coordinator of Communications and Community Outreach, NCSU Program for Value-Added & Alternative Agriculture, NC Research Campus, Kannapolis, 704-250-5406 or 704-617-0502.
