Fertilization and nutrition for strawberry
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Pick the plot first Open a new chat and tap Plots (All) under the question box. Choose the plot you want advice for. ORTH then works from that plot’s crop, variety, soil and documents, and from the farm weather. For strawberry Pick one plot of one variety. We picked Fresas: Fortuna, a short-day strawberry, on 1.50 ha under macrotunnel, 90,000 plants planted in October, sandy soil and drip. Every number below is for that plot. - 2
Start from the Nutrition button Under the question box, tap Nutrition. ORTH offers five ready-made questions, from reading a soil, water or leaf test to a season-long program. Tap one and ORTH asks it straight away, or type your own question. For strawberry A strawberry crop needs most nitrogen and potassium while it carries fruit. In sandy soil, split every weekly target over several drip events so less is lost below the roots. - 3
Ask for the season program We tapped Build a season-long nutrition program for this crop. ORTH proposed 39 actions from 5 November to 28 May, with 30 weekly fertigation targets. It starts with a water and root-zone sample, a check of irrigation volume and emitter uniformity, and a check that the stock tanks are kept separate. The targets are provisional because the plot has no water or soil analysis yet, and the dates follow the crop stage: establishment, crown growth, flowering, fruit filling and late harvest. ORTH rated it three stars. - 4
Save the proposal as actions When ORTH proposes a plan, tap Review to see every action with its date, category and instructions. Change or add actions if you need to, then tap Create. The actions land in the plot’s plans, ready to assign to someone on your team. For strawberry On Fresas this saved the Season-long strawberry nutrition plan with 39 actions. Each weekly target is an action you can open, adjust and tick off. - 5
Soft fruit in warm spells We asked whether more calcium would fix soft fruit with a short shelf life in warm spells. ORTH said not to raise calcium blindly: softness in heat comes more often from hot fruit, interrupted water uptake, a high root-zone EC, fast ripening and slow cooling. Check four things first: temperature and humidity at fruit height, root-zone moisture and EC before and during peak heat, the real calcium supply and balance, and how fast the fruit is cooled. Raising calcium nitrate also adds nitrogen and EC. Extra calcium only helps when tests show low supply or low calcium in the tissue while roots, moisture and EC are fine. Then add a modest, evenly split amount, steadily during flowering and early fruit growth. - 6
Ask what changes for a day-neutral variety We asked how the Fortuna program changes for San Andreas, a day-neutral variety. ORTH said not to cut the feed automatically on the date Fortuna does. Fortuna drops from 6.0/0.6/10.0/5.0/1.0 kg/ha a week of N/P/K/Ca/Mg to 4.5/0.4/8.0/5.0/1.0 on 2 April. With San Andreas, keep the fruiting band while the plants flower, set and are picked, and taper only when new flowers and crop load decline. Keep nitrogen steady, without raising it, keep potassium, calcium and magnesium further into the harvest, and keep phosphorus low after establishment. - 7
Strawberries in coir bags In coir the weekly kilos per hectare no longer steer the crop. ORTH turns the recipe into a concentration per litre of irrigation water and works out daily use from the water the plants actually take up. Give smaller, more frequent pulses, measure the EC and pH of the feed and the drain, and react to the difference between them. Fresh coir holds calcium and magnesium and releases potassium, so check that the bags are buffered and do not add extra potassium.
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