Influence of Multiple Layers and Polyethylene Mulch Color to Increase Day-neutral Strawberry Production

Annual production systems of day-neutral strawberries bear fruit in the late summer and fall providing high value, off-season fruit in the year of planting. Newer cultivars developed in California are bred to grow in longer and cooler growing seasons. Iowa’s cool springs with higher summer temperatures and the added risk of early frost in the fall can truncate strawberry production, thereby requiring production systems to achieve high yields in the field during the growing season. Soil mulches offer the potential to manipulate soil temperature and increase yields through the use of different colors and numbers of layers. The primary goal of this project was to evaluate differences in total yield of Albion day-neutral strawberry grown in three soil mulch treatments that included different colors and length of time the mulch layers remained on the planting