How should you water the strawberries during flowering and after cutting the leaves?

Content


The key to a good harvest of garden strawberries (strawberries) is fertile soil, timely processing of bushes and watering. As for the last point, it is important to water the strawberries correctly during flowering so as not to disrupt the process of berry ovary. Not everyone gives due importance to the quality of pollination, although this is the moment that is key to yield. Illiterate watering can significantly reduce the number of berries.

Ladybug on blooming strawberry

The importance of quality pollination

Strawberry yield largely depends on the quality of pollination (this also applies to self-pollinating varieties). The more flower pistils are pollinated, the more seeds (true strawberries) are formed. And there is a direct relationship between the number of seeds and the size of the berry. With high-quality pollination, strawberries grow large and even, and with poor pollination, the fruits will be ugly and small.

Advice

For the formation of large berries of the correct shape, strawberries of different varieties should be planted in the beds for the purpose of cross-pollination.

For fertilization to take place successfully, there must be a lot of pollen. In strawberries, from 15 to 25% of all pollen grains are sterile, that is, not capable of fertilization. Weather conditions have a significant impact on how much and what kind of pollen eventually gets on the stigmas of pistils.

During the period of heavy rains, the activity of pollinating insects is low, pollen grains are washed out from mature anthers, stamens, stigmas of pistils. Hot weather also does not contribute to high-quality pollination of strawberries: the pollen simply dries up. Therefore, in the heat, it is necessary to maintain the moisture of the soil and air by abundant and frequent watering.

Watering strawberries during flowering

How to water properly?

In the spring, the first watering is done as the soil dries up (25 cm deep) after cutting the leaves. Before discarding the peduncles, you can water with sprinkling, this is useful for nourishing, cleaning and stimulating the growth of green mass.

Many summer residents are skeptical about how dangerous it is to water strawberries on a leaf during flowering: after all, it is impossible to regulate the rain, and the berries are somehow tied in wet weather. The key word is “somehow”. If, during the flowering period, the strawberries are charged with prolonged heavy rains, then the yield will decrease significantly, and not due to a decrease in temperature, oxygen starvation of roots or the formation of rot, but precisely because of poor-quality pollination. Experienced gardeners even hide the ridges under the film.

Hot weather also does not create ideal conditions for the ovary of a bountiful strawberry harvest, but adjustments can be made with regular watering. It is important to consider the main rule here: water should not fall on the flower under high pressure, since the pollen is easy to wash off.

The best options for watering strawberries:

  • drip;
  • under the root from a hose or watering can;
  • fine dispersion ("fog").

Strawberry drip irrigation
The most preferable watering of strawberries by the drip method, the essence of which is strictly dosed (drop by drop), but constant flow of water into the area of ​​the root system of the bush. To organize drip irrigation, you will need a special hose with holes located at a certain interval along its entire length. Drippers are mounted in the holes, which are directed under the bush.

Advice

Homemade drip systems in the form of a regular hose with holes made in it are disappointing with the result, since the water pressure is not regulated, most of it is poured out through the front. Professional hose equipped with a pressure reducing device and special droppers, due to which moisture is distributed evenly, water consumption is reduced. For ridges, hoses with end drip systems are used
Drip humidification can be used around the clock, but the usual watering of strawberries in the open field should be done in the evenings, when the sun's rays are already oblique and not hot. Watering in the morning will prevent the water droplets from drying out before the sun reaches zenith and will act as focusing lenses. This will cause burns on the strawberry leaves. At night, moisture evaporation decreases, the soil is well saturated, and with morning watering it will quickly crust over if there is no mulch.
Spray watering strawberry beds
The water should not be icy. The best option is to take it from pre-filled barrels. During watering, you should not set a high pressure, since the roots of strawberries are located superficially - they will simply be washed out of the ground.

Water temperature problems are relieved by using a fine spray sprinkler. This is a regular hose that connects to the water supply or to a pump immersed in a storage barrel (preferred), but with a special diffuser at the end. Water under pressure flows through small holes, forming a moist suspension in the air. Such a device can be turned on at night or in the evening. Water will not knock pollen off the strawberry flowers, but, on the contrary, fix it.

Watering strawberries with a solution of potassium permanganate

Watering covered beds

Planting strawberries under agrofibre is popular for several reasons:

  • weeds do not grow;
  • berries remain clean;
  • an optimal microclimate for the root system is created;
  • mustache trimming is made easier.

Advice

You should not use the film as a covering for the ridge, since the greenhouse effect contributes to the development of diseases, and the lack of oxygen inhibits the functioning of the root system.

Agrofibre successfully replaces mulch, retains moisture, but the soil sooner or later dries up, and some have questions about how to water strawberries in such beds so as not to damage the tissue and nourish the plants. Spunbond has a good carrying capacity, but with manual watering, the shelter can be slightly raised and water can be poured under it so that moisture is quickly distributed through the root system. With drip irrigation, all questions are removed, since the dispensers are located in the immediate vicinity of the roots.

To make strawberries happy with berries for the next season, watering will be required after harvest, as well as in early autumn. Moisture and nutrition are necessary for the bush to lay the fruit buds and build up a new healthy green mass, with which it will leave before winter. In order not to provoke rotting of the roots and the development of the fungus, it is important to observe the measure and take into account the weather conditions, as well as the presence of shelter or mulch that reduce evaporation.

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