Strawberry Production in Central Europe

This paper focuses on the cropping systems in central European countries such as Belgium, The Netherlands, UK, Ireland, Germany, Switzerland and the northern part of France and Italy. During the last decade there has been a consistent increase in programmed out-of-season strawberry production in several central European countries. This is being achieved in part, by using cultivars with different cropping seasons, but mainly by sequential planting of cold-stored plants and by growing strawberries in greenhouses and plastic tunnels. These methods have made it possible to extend the strawberry production for 11 months, from the end of February until mid January in central European countries with moderate climates. (C) 2005 by The Haworth Press, Inc. All rights reserved.