Strawberry cover-up transforms soft fruit growing

Soft Fruit Open Day: By John Dardis

The most radical change in Irish strawberry production since the industry took hold in Wexford in the 1930s is being promoted by Teagasc.

At the recent open day at the Clonroche Research Station growers were urged to take up the new technology of growing out-of-season fruit under polythene.

The move away from traditional unprotected mid-season field production to irrigated crops on elevated staging under walk-in tunnels is being driven by consumer demand for high quality chemical-free fresh fruit that is available over an extended period.

It also stems from a belated acknowledgement that the Irish climate is less than ideal for outdoor strawberry production.

The Teagasc work, extending back over a ten-year period, has now been brought together in a comprehensive publication. "Out of Season Strawberry Production under Polythene" was launched at the Open Day by Minister for State Hugh Byrne.

Compiled by Finnain MacNaeidhe, it gives a detailed account of the various systems and their costs and spells out the husbandry of protected strawberry crops.

"Investigations at Clonroche have shown that a six to eight month crop is less vulnerable to disease and pest attack", said Finnain. "Less fungicides, pesticides and fertilisers are required and the crop is less costly to produce and is therefore more profitable."

A shorter production season also allows the grower to take two crops and this in turn allows costs to be recovered more quickly.

Finnain Mac Naeidhe said there is an ever increasing demand by the consumer for wholesome health-giving chemical-free fruit.

"In the future the emphasis will be on crops produced from runners in soil-less culture and in a short season of production where few or no chemicals are used."

Polythene tunnels for better returns

WALK-IN, Spanish, mobile or cloches are the choices of tunnel types available to growers for out of season production.

Perforated float film is also an alternative. By using a range of production systems, combined with traditional field systems it is possible to harvest strawberries continuously from early May to mid-November.

Protection from wind and rain, early ripening, improved quality and higher yields are just some of the benefits of polythene. These benefits are marked in walk-in tunnels and Spanish tunnels. Raising the crop up to or above eye level on specially constructed shelving provides additional advantages.

The berries do not come in contact with the soil, the fruit ripens more evenly and there is less risk of disease. Herbicides are unnecessary. Pickers are protected from the weather and picking rates are up to 30 per cent faster than in the field.

Capital costs vary widely depending on the sophistication of the structure. Top of the range 9m by 30m double clad houses with motorised roofs run to more than £30 a square metre. Standard walk-in tunnels with ventilation can be constructed for around £8 to £17 a square. With Spanish tunnels the cost comes down to around £3 including VAT.

Because plant density in walk-in tunnels is high (9 to 12 plants per square metre) the extra cost of production is small and, according to Teagasc, they have given high yields and the best financial returns. All houses are clad in 600 to800 gauge five year polythene cladding.

The Spanish tunnels are multispan polythene structures developed in the Mediterranean region for protected strawberries. There are 7000 hectares under them around Naples and 5000 hectares are used for strawberries near Malaga in southern Spain.

Their relatively low cost is achieved by using light gauge narrow bore steel uprights and hoops. The multispan design increases the strength of the structure.

Spanish tunnels are suitable for the production of a spring-forced crop in May and June followed by an autumn crop of Elsanta or Everbearers for August to November production.

Finnain Mac Naeidhe points out that because strawberry production in walk-in tunnels is a high cost method of production cropping should be confined to the period during which the returns are at a maximum.

This means harvesting in late April to early June and again in August to November. Cropping programmes have been developed at Clonroche to achieve this objective.

Growers turn to foreign help

SOFT fruit growers in Wexford are looking to Eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union to cope with a labour shortage that is threatening the future of their industry.

Jim Kearns, chairman of the Wexford Fruit Growers Association said at the Clonroche Open Day that unless pickers from foreign countries were brought into Wexford the processing sector would be forced to close within two years.

A group of five growers have applied to bring in 70 pickers from Belarus. This is common practice in Scotland.

At the peak of the strawberry season more than 1,000 people are involved in harvesting the Wexford strawberry crop. Picking costs run to about £500 an acre.

The booming wider economy has pulled skilled pickers away from the fruit fields into more secure employment and many growers are now heavily reliant on very young people to get their crops harvested.

Jim Kearns said the shortage of pickers had become so severe that the future of Chivers in Enniscorthy, which it self employs 80 people during the processing season plus a maintenance staff, was at risk.

"If we could tell growers that pickers would be available to them the processing acreage would expand," said Jim. "As it is the tonnage for processing is falling steadily."

Minister of State, Hugh Byrne, reminded growers that there were still 100,000 people unemployed in the country but he undertook to take the issue to Government to see if the problem could be solved.

"We are at a remarkable stage when we have to resort to bringing in people from outside the country to harvest the soft fruit crop", said the Minister.