Strawberry cultivation with renewable substrates and organic fertilisers

Added on 16 October 2024

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Strawberry cultivation with renewable substrates and organic fertilisers

Photo: WUR

The strawberry sector is facing the challenge of reducing the use of crop protection products. In addition, the use of renewable substrates will have to increase and there is interest in the use of organic fertilisers. Combining these challenges offers opportunities. Wageningen University & Research, BU Greenhouse Horticulture is investigating how the cultivation and cultivation of strawberries can be made more resilient and sustainable. Researcher Tommaso Barbagli: “We are working on a clean future for strawberry cultivation.”

In this project, WUR is investigating which combination of renewable substrates and organic fertilisers leads to strong plants that produce well, but that is also resilient to diseases and pests. This research at WUR in Bleiswijk is carried out in phases: first the propagation is optimised, then the cultivation. Barbagli: “A good producing and resilient plant starts with a good propagation. If problems in the propagation can be prevented, this is better than having to improve things at a later stage.