Case Study
Strawberry
Overview
Crop Tested: Strawberry
Locaon, Date and Purpose of Trials:
Case 1: Watsonville, CA (2011) : To determine if BioFlora® products could increase quality and quan ty in
a high salt soil.
Case 2: Oxnard, CA (2008 - 2009) : To determine if
there would be an increase in nutrient uptake by
adding Humega into a conven onal fer lizer program.
Conductors: Case 1: Jack Parson, BioFlora® Sales Representa ve Case 2: David Holden, Holden Research
and Consul ng
Background
Producon: Strawberries are usually planted in
raised beds with drip tape buried underneath the
transplant. Con nued monoculture of conven onal
berry produc on has reduced soil fer lity and ecology
in strawberry fields.
This inert soil has created an environment that requires
high fer lizer inputs and very high fungicide and insec cide inputs.
Improving a fer lizer program will necessitate a visual
field examina on, iden fica on of deficiency symptoms
and plant and soil tes ng.
BioFlora® products are designed to increase soil fer lity
and to help restore beneficial soil biology. Some examples of this are recapped in the following case studies
(See Case 1 and Case 2).
Picture
Environment: Strawberries do well in areas where
they have some drying breeze every day. Though
they prefer cool, moist nights, excessive free moisture or frequent rain on the fruit and leaves for long
periods of me makes them suscep ble to fungal
and bacterial diseases. Simultaneously, heavy wind
can be damaging to berry flowers and can rub leaves
against the fruit, causing chafing and bruising.
Soil: Berries prefer a well-drained, sandy-loam to
loamy-sand soil with good fer lity. These fruits are
somewhat sensi ve to salts in the water, and do
best where water is low in dissolved salts.
Above: Case 1: Control strawberry (le8) and BioFlora® strawberry (right) with stronger calyx and higher nutrient density.
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Case 1
Case 2
Two side by side 10 acre plots were chosen for the
trial, both had a high salt content in the water and the
soil. The first 10 acre plot was the control field, which
used a conven onal fer lizer program. The second 10
acre plot was the BioFlora® field, which used a combina on of Humega®, Fulmega™ 1% Mg, GOgreen® and
BioFlora Seaweed Creme® added to a conven onal
fer lizer program.
In this trial, Holden Research and Consul ng compared
a conven onal strawberry program with a conven onal program supplemented with Humega® over the span
of two years.
The BioFlora® field had: a reduced NPK input of 65%
over the control, produced slightly more berries overall, produced more berries sooner than the control
field, used very liFle fungicides or pes cides and had
fully formed fruit calyxes that did not deteriorate
quickly once harvested.
The results in the BioFlora® treated field showed an
increase of over 25% in ini al bloom and fruit set.
More crown sets by 15% and the overall harvest
showed more trays picked on a daily basis, resul ng in
approximately $1,000 per day higher income in the
treated field, over the control.
*Differences in results of any set of trials can vary due
to variety, soil type, climate, plant age, irriga&on, disease, insects and end use of fruit.
Strawberry Nutrient Study: Ini al Bloom and Fruit Set Over Time
Le: Case 2: Chart 1 depicts the number of
strawberries per plant on the date rated. The
BioFlora® test field exceeded the control
field on each test date.
On 12/2/08 the Grower Standard had 2.25,
BioFlora® had 2.98.
On 12/17/09 the Grower Standard had 3.55,
BioFlora® had 4.68.
On 12/23/09 the Grower Standard has 3.88,
BioFlora® had 4.75.
BioFlora®
16121 W. Eddie Albert Way
Goodyear, AZ 85338
Phone: (623) 932-1522
www.bioflora.com