Over a ton of strawberries were picked within several weeks in the greenhouse complex of Sevastopol enterprise Artwin. The so-called Veronese tunnels appeared on the land of the collective farm last year. The first strawberries of the Clery variety were planted in the same period. Harvesting began in the middle of April. The growers have shared the secrets of looking after the berry.
The greenhouse complex occupies a territory of 3 ha. Thanks to drip irrigation and regular feeding, the first crops were impressive, with almost no defect.
“We grow strawberries in Veronese tunnels, completely in accordance with the Italian technology. We purchase seedlings in Italy too. The plastic cover was imported from Italy, we have supplies for five years ahead, and the metal constructions were purchased in Turkey. We planted the strawberries last year, in August. Strawberries are grown on an acreage of three hectares in the greenhouses and one hectare in the open field, in order to prolong the harvesting time. Next year we are planning to introduce another three hectares of greenhouses”, shares the chief agronomist, Mr. Leonid Beliy.
The berries are strictly sorted. Because of the fact that spring was frosty, the growers had to cover the strawberries overnight.
“Strawberries are sorted according to size into big, middle and non-standard ones. Non-standard ones are the berries with some sort of defect. For instance, a berry without a tip is a non-standard one because it will be dripping with juice. We pick them every day. Now that it has become warmer, the strawberries ripe faster and the productivity is increasing”, noted Ms. Nadezhda Blashkun, a greenhouse associate.
Within a couple of weeks over a ton of strawberries have been collected. The enterprise has big plans for the future, noted the chief agronomist. “We are planning to expand our acreage of garden strawberries. In addition, we want to start growing raspberries in the tunnels. However, the construction will be 2 meters higher, thus a different technology will be used”.
Soon the strawberries in the open field will be ripe too. In all, the growers are planning to harvest up to 40 tons.
Source: nts-tv.com