Winter glasshouse strawberry production: A sequential cropping programme

A schedule was devised to produce glasshouse strawberries from December to March, which is a period when few English strawberries are on the market. In an experimental test, fruit of good quality was obtained at the times planned. Gross yields from ‘Red Gauntlet’ were approximately 50 % greater than those from ‘Glasa’ and the respective marketable yields were 67 % and 60 % of gross yields. Total crop weight increased linearly with the lateness of the season, while average fruit size decreased, also linearly. Yields per plant were variable, the greatest being more than double the average, and were correlated with the number of flowers and number of trusses.