Expert Answer

Strawberries can be grown on a variety of soils, but it is easier to get high yield and quality when grown in light or sandy soil that is loose, fertile, permeable, and well-aerated.

Strawberry is a shallow rooted plant, more than 80% of the root system are concentrated in the soil surface within 25 cm, in addition, coupled with the strawberry root apex penetration is weak, when the soil is hard it prevents the strawberry root stretching, affecting the expansion of the root absorption area, which also affects the growth and development of above-ground organs. Therefore, whether the soil is suitable for strawberry cultivation depends largely on the structure and texture of the soil surface.

Strawberries grow and develop well in acidic soils where the water table is not higher than 80 to 100 centimeters and pH 5.5 to 6.5. Planting strawberries in swampy, saline and calcareous soils, because these types of soil structure is compact, poor permeability, poor drainage, high pH, not conducive to strawberry absorption of water and nutrients, strawberry growth and development is poor. Clay soil, aeration, poor water permeability, poor soil drainage, easy to flooding, soil organic matter decomposition is slow, short-term can not meet the strawberry on the full supply of nutrients, easy to cause the fruit taste acidic, dull color, late maturity.

In protected cultivation, the soil in the shed is easy to dry out, sandy soil is more likely to dry out, and need to be constantly irrigated in order to better root occurrence. Sandy soil is also prone to seepage, and when water seeps in, it is not easy to drain off, which results in low-lying sandy soil that is prone to flooding and drought. In open field cultivation, sandy soils heat up faster than clay soils, but in sheltered greenhouse cultivation, with good soil moisture adjustment, all kinds of soils heat up at about the same rate. This is because direct light is blocked by the plastic film, the ground temperature rises more slowly, first of all, the shed air temperature, and then the ground temperature can gradually rise. Therefore, in protected production, as long as the regulation of fertilizer and water, the general soil can get early production, early harvest.

Tip Sheet

Strawberries grow well on fertile sandy loam, for sandy soil, clay soil can be soil improvement by applying more organic fertilizer. The water table is not higher than 80 to 100 centimeters, pH 5.5 to 6.5 is conducive to the growth and development of strawberries. Various types of soil in the greenhouse warming effect is not much difference, so the general soil planting strawberries can get good economic benefits.