Use of containerized transplants to increase growth and production of day neutral strawberries under organic management

Strawberry growers in the USA primarily use bare-root plants to establish their fields, while there is an increased interest in planting fields from rooted plugs and containerized transplants. Strawberries grown in greenhouse structures as transplants during winter may produce earlier the following spring, with higher rates of transplant survival as compared to bare-root plantings. This two-part study evaluated the use of containerized strawberry transplants in an organic fresh market production system in Aurora, Oregon. 'Albion' and 'Seascape' day-neutral cultivars were grown in two container sizes (234 and 614 cm³) in 2018 and 2019 and kept in an unheated greenhouse for six weeks before being transplanted into a certified organic field. The 2019 field trial included a bare-root plant control treatment. Cultivar, container size, and planting stock type had affected transplant leaf area, crown development, and marketable and total yield plant^‑1. The 2018 trial showed overall greater plant development and yield with 'Seascape' and large container plants, while in 2019 bare-root plants had increased growth and higher yields than transplants of either size; and 'Seascape' produced better than 'Albion'. While containerized transplant production is a feasible alternative for early field establishment, the second part of this study showed bare-root plants out-performed transplants in terms of yield.