March 2021 - 13

determining appropriate fertilizer
rates by variety and weed
management programs using
herbicides, " Wallace said. " We also
had success using low tunnels for
northern climates to protect crop
growth. "
Montague said a great dynamic
can be created when researchers
from different backgrounds
collaborate on a project, and
Wallace included experts from
across Texas to investigate
challenges strawberry growers
may face no matter where they are
growing their crop.
" For me, the really exciting part of
this project is how several different
universities and agencies - AgriLife
Extension, AgriLife Research,
Texas Tech University, Texas A&M
University-Prairie View - and
the Poteet Strawberry Festival
Association and a number of
growers will be collaborating, "
Montague said.
Wallace said some of the
interesting findings so far include
which varieties improve or decrease
yield based on fertilization rates and
an increased understanding on which
varieties are best suited for different
growing environments in Texas.
Stakeholder success
" It's exciting to see our work have
real-world applications for our
stakeholders - we now have the
very first commercial strawberry
producer in Lubbock County, " said
Wallace. " He had 5,000 plants last
year and planted 30,000 this year. To
see him utilizing what we've learned
so far and to be able to go out and
see his fields is just wonderful. "
" We're extremely excited
about what we've learned
thus far to successfully
grow strawberries in Texas
and increase profitability. "
- Russ Wallace,
Texas AgriLife Extension
Wallace since the first grant and has
participated in field trials.
" It has been beneficial to all of
our farmers because Dr. Wallace
periodically has seminars reviewing
all of his findings and how we can
implement these findings to our
own crop, " said Schultze. " He is
always eager to help the farmers,
whether it is a new, small farmer or
an older, experienced farmer. "
Schultze said they've learned more
about pre-emergent herbicides,
fertilizer rates and types of fertilizer
that can be used and the feasibility
of low tunnels and low tunnel shade
cloth from the studies.
" This research helps all of us
determine the best strawberry
varieties for our area, " she said.
" My husband and I are members
of the Poteet Strawberry Growers
Association, and we share the
information we learn with other
local farmers. "
Graduate student Mackenzie Cox
of Texas Tech is also involved with
the research and will be collecting
data from several strawberry
projects for her thesis. She has
already initiated experimental plots
in Lubbock and Poteet.
Different strawberry
regions, needs
Commercial strawberries are grown
in several regions throughout Texas.
" Each location, Lubbock,
Arlington, Poteet, Houston, etc.,
has vastly different soils, climate
and overall growing conditions, "
explained Montague. " One of
the main challenges strawberry
producers in Texas face is what
particular strawberry variety may
perform best in their specific
location, and what management
techniques will give them the
greatest yields and highest quality
fruit. "
Montague said in addition,
strawberry producers need
information on the amount of
fertilizer, which helps plants to
maximize yield.
" Growers are concerned about
The grant also provides funding
to help communicate information
learned from the group's experiments
to Texas strawberry producers.
" Because funding for this grant
is for very applied research, during
and after the granting time period
we will be holding a number of
workshops, field days and training
sessions online, and throughout the
state, " Montague said. " Meeting with
strawberry growers and presenting
research data, which can directly
help growers overcome their
challenges is an important aspect of
the grant. "
Producer Ruth Anne Schultze,
who has 64,000 plants over 3 acres
in Poteet, has been working with
AgriLife Extension agent for
Atascosa County Dale Rankin and
fertilizer costs and reducing
fertilizer runoff, " he said. " Wateruse
efficiency, yield of product
produced/volume of water applied,
is a critical part of agriculture.
Growers need information on how
to maximize yield but use less water.
With the tools and techniques we
have and the experiments funded by
the grant, we hope to answer some
of these questions. "
To assist growers, the project will
investigate how several strawberry
varieties perform in a number of
growing locations. Wallace and
Montague will try to determine
the management techniques, low
tunnels, shade cloth, planting dates,
etc., that will give Texas growers the
fruit quality and yields they need to
be profitable in each region.
" All our efforts are to help
growers decrease costs and improve
yield, " Wallace said. VGN
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March 2021

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of March 2021
