Planting Berry Crops. Part 1

2024 Author: Gavin MacAdam | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-16 13:38

Berries are perennial plants, therefore, all elements of agricultural technology associated with the choice of previous crops, methods of preparing the soil for planting and the planting itself are especially important for them

The best predecessors of berry crops are row crops or grasses. When choosing them, they take into account not only the removal of nutrients from the soil, the effect on its structure, the timing of the release of the site from them, but also the susceptibility to pests and diseases, which are sometimes common with the following berry crops. For example, strawberries suffer greatly from a dangerous and difficult to eradicate pest - stem nematode, which also damages some vegetables (onions, parsnips, rhubarb), clover, vetch and other crops. The stem nematode remains in the soil for a long time. Therefore, the predecessor, if infected, can transmit the pest to strawberries.

It is necessary to place berry crops taking into account their biological characteristics and external conditions. They grow well on structural soils with a neutral or slightly acidic reaction, in moderately moist areas, well protected from winds and cold air jets. This is especially important when cold weather returns in spring and late spring frosts. All berry plants at sub-zero temperatures, even with slight damage to flowers or ovaries, lose their yield. In the areas designated for planting berries, sufficient snow should accumulate in winter, which is especially important for young strawberry plantations.

Attention should also be paid to the leveling of the site, since water can stagnate in the depressions during spring floods, prolonged rains and irrigation, causing the death of plants from soaking. The uneven terrain of the plot is especially dangerous for strawberries. Of the main berry crops, the most moisture-loving, frost-resistant, relatively shade-tolerant, but the least resistant to high temperatures is black currant. She also suffers more than others from an overly acidic soil reaction.

Gooseberries, raspberries and strawberries are light-loving plants that require moderate soil and air moisture to grow and develop. Frost resistance of these crops is weaker than black currant. They are most successfully cultivated on slightly acidic soils at a pH of 5, 7-6, 0. At an acidity of pH 5, 0 and below, for all berry-growers, the soil must be limed, which contributes not only to a decrease in acidity, but also to its enrichment with calcium. You can use various limestone materials - ground limestone, lump lime, slaked lime, ground chalk and others. For raspberries, strawberries and especially gooseberries, the soil should be limed in advance, for previous crops, for black currants - just before planting. Doses of lime fluctuate depending on the acidity of the soil (from 150-200 g to 600-700 g per 1 square meter, or 1, 5-2, 0 and 6-7 tons per 1 ha).

A necessary condition for growing high yields of berries is the structure and nutritional value of the root layer. In currants, gooseberries and raspberries, the bulk of the roots is located at a depth of 50-60 cm on average. On soils with a shallow cultivated layer, their location is more superficial, which is why they are in the worst conditions for growth and development. Therefore, it is necessary to deeply cultivate the soil by plowing and filling it with fertilizers. The best of which is manure, which should be applied, depending on the type of soil, at 30, 60 and even 80 tons per hectare (3-8 kg per 1 sq. M). Overripe manure can be poured immediately to a depth of 35-40 cm, and fresh manure must first be plowed shallowly and only after a few months deep plowing must be applied. Compost can also be used instead of manure.