University of Arkansas scientists tour Belgian strawberry research facility

University of Arkansas researchers gear up to look at better ways to grow strawberries in controlled environment production facilities.

Tom Van Delm, coordinator of strawberry research at Research Centre Hoogstraten (Proefcentrum Hoogstraten) in Belgium, hosted a tour for University of Arkansas horticulture researchers. The Research Centre conducts studies on strawberries, tomatoes and peppers. Gerson Van’t Wout, import/export manager at Hort Americas, joined the tour and filed this report.

Tom Van Delm (left), coordinator of strawberry
research at Research Centre Hoogstraten, talks
with University of Arkansas horticulture professor
Mike Evans about the strawberry research being
done at the Belgian facility.

Strawberry specifics
The University of Arkansas researchers were at the Research Centre to look at the various aspects of strawberry production being studied. Although many of the systems being used to produce strawberries, including the use of gutters, drip irrigation, fertigation and supplemental lighting are similar to what American greenhouse vegetable growers are currently using, Van’t Wout said that there are differences in how the crops are grown. He said there will be a learning curve for U.S. growers who want to add greenhouse-grown strawberries to their product mix.

Numerous strawberry production systems,
including NFT troughs, are being studied at
Research Centre Hoogstraten in Belgium.

Belgian strawberry growers who have switched to greenhouse production have had an easier time controlling environmental factors including temperature, humidity and light levels. They also are better able to manage irrigation, pests and diseases. Van’t Wout said most of the Belgian growers who have not made the switch to greenhouse production are the ones who have been doing field production for a long time and are comfortable with that method.

Breeding, pest management, lighting research

Van’t Wout said that Belgian strawberry breeders are not hybridizing strawberries specifically for greenhouse production. When a new variety is introduced by the breeders, he said researchers and growers will try to produce it in various controlled environment and outdoor growing situations. Van’t Wout said U.S. greenhouse growers should be able to adapt Belgian-bred strawberries to their production systems.

The biggest pest problems facing Belgian strawberry growers are thrips and spider mites. Several trials are being conducted at the Research Centre with natural enemies, including predatory mites, to determine their effectiveness on controlling these pests.

Research has also been done with replacing incandescent light bulbs with LEDs, including Philips GreenPower LED flowering lamp. Van Delm said that strawberry trials have shown that deep red/white/far red LEDs are “an effective and energy-efficient replacement” for incandescent bulbs.

Strawberry research at Research Centre Hoogstraten
in Belgium has included the use of LEDs to replace
incandescent bulbs for greenhouse production.

For more: Gerson Van’t Wout, Hort Americas LLC, infohortamericas@gmail.com; http://www.hortamericas.com. National Strawberry Sustainability Initiative, http://strawberry.uark.edu. Research Centre Hoogstraten (Proefcentrum Hoogstraten), http://www.proefcentrum.be/en.

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