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Establishment of a propagation system for ecologically produced strawberry plants within the frame of a joint research project focusing on the development of an ecologic system for the maintenance of strawberry mother plants

Project


Project code: 2815OE066, JKI-ZGO-08-4197
Contract period: 01.04.2017 - 31.03.2020
Budget: 149,244 Euro
Purpose of research: Applied research

Currently, there is no organic strawberry plant production system running in Europe, starting from the establishment of mother plants up to the production of market ready young plants. Instead, conventionally produced strawberry plants from large commercial nurseries are used under the permission of a certificate of exemption, planted into organic substrate for four weeks and then labeled as “organic”. Moreover, the spectrum of cultivars, which can be used by organic plant producers, is very limited and depends strongly on the large commercial nurseries providing only mother plants of view cultivars. Only a very small number of these cultivars have really been evaluated for the demands of organic strawberry fruit production. This is not in agreement with the general concept of organic fruit growing which is aimed on increasing the biodiversity in fruit production by promoting the use of better adapted cultivars. For finding a solution for this unsatisfactory situation, a first propagation system for organic strawberry runner production will be established within two closely connected research projects. In P1 mother plant maintenance under organic conditions will be established with regard to the phytosanitary regulations in an insect protection tent. The project starts with virus-free plant material which will be grown with various growth substrates and fertilizers with regard to evaluate their suitability for an organic runner production system. In P2 new strawberry cultivars suitable for organic maintenance of mother stocks and for organic runner production will be selected. New breeding material will be generated and selected with regard to organic farming. Existing and new breeding clones will be assessed for their aptness to organic runner production. Best candidates will then be supplied for organic mother stock maintenance. Super-elite-plants of suitable cultivars will be provided to organically producing nurseries as starting material for future propagation.

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