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Authors: | P. Lieten, J. Longuesserre, G. Baruzzi, J. Lopez-Medina, J. Claude Navatel, E. Krueger, V. Matala, G. Paroussi |
Keywords: | soilless, acreage Europe, protected cultivation |
DOI: | 10.17660/ActaHortic.2004.649.35 |
Abstract:
In the mid-eighties substrate culture of strawberries developped mainly in The Netherlands and Belgium where strawberries are grown now intensively yearround on small farms.
Due to the limited available surface and knowledge on growing soilless vegetables and flowers substrate culture of strawberries gained much interest and has become a common cultivation method for yeararound production.
The last ten years the technique has spread in central Europe, mainly UK, France and the North of Italy.
More recently substrate culture has known a strong development in the south of France, the mediteranean Islands (Cyprus and Malta) and has started to develop also in Spain and South of the Italy.
On the other hand the interest in northern Europe (Germany and the Scandinavian countries) is rather limited.
While 15 years ago strawberry nursery plant material was mainly established in the soil according to traditional growing techniques the last decade the majority of the strawberry plants used for soilless culture are being raised on substrate (trayplants, potted plants). Meanwhile there is a tendency to closed soilless production systems in Belgium and The Netherlands.
Currently the production area of strawberry soilless culture in Western Europe can be estimated around 1140 ha or 2.4 % of the total production area which is estimated to be around 47.000 ha.
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