Pruning strawberries is one of the horticultural operations that are aimed at increasing yields and improving the quality of berries. This procedure is carried out only if the plant needs it. In order to correctly determine the need for pruning, you need to know when to prune strawberries and how to do it without harming the plant and the fruiting process.
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When to prune strawberries?
Processing times can be divided into 3 periods. Each of the options has its own advantages and disadvantages.
The most commonly used:
- spring;
- autumn;
- after the last berries are picked.
After a long winter period, even strong crops can lose some of their foliage. This situation is most often observed in the northern regions, where winters are frosty, but with little snow. The use of mulch helps to protect the bushes from freezing, but the green mass freezes and spring pruning is required.
Sick, rotten and damaged leaves are removed on strawberries. In this case, the removal should be carried out carefully so as not to damage the young leaves and unblown buds.
It should be remembered that when harvesting damaged leaves in the spring, flower stalks can be easily damaged.
In some cases, the autumn cultivation of the plantation can be even more traumatic than the spring one. Its implementation is caused by the desire to clear the garden and remove everything from the beds.
With the leaves removed, pests are removed from the site, but the plant remains without natural protection, so it hibernates harder, and when severe frosts come, it can die.
If autumn processing is planned, then it should be done long before the onset of frost. In this case, only dried and affected leaves should be removed. After pruning, it is required to mulch the bed with straw, mown grass, coniferous litter or peat.
The most optimal time for removing excess green mass of strawberries is considered to be the time immediately after the harvest. For the remaining time, the rosettes of the plants have time to increase the vegetative mass, form flower buds for fruiting in the future warm period and stock up on nutrients for good wintering. In winter, such sockets go out stronger and prepared for the unfavorable conditions of the cold period.
Pruning plant leaves
Processing strawberry bushes involves removing the leaves on the fruit-bearing bushes.
This procedure is required in order to:
- to carry out partial rejuvenation of plants;
- get rid of damaged and diseased leaves;
- prevent bacterial and fungal infections of the plant;
- to reduce the number of wintering pests.
With the right choice of processing time and subject to all agricultural requirements, such a procedure will benefit the entire strawberry plantation.
How to prune?
You need to prepare for the implementation of the agrotechnical procedure.
For this purpose, the gardener will need:
- sharp scissors or pruning shears;
- container for collecting cut crop residues;
- a device for loosening the soil near the outlets;
- mulch;
- gloves for hand protection.
Leaves with shoots on strawberries must be removed by cutting; it is not recommended to pick them off by hand. This is due to the fact that they have high strength and instead of breaking the leaves, part of the bush can break out of the ground.
After pruning, it is recommended to feed the bushes with cow slurry in the form of a weak solution or bird litter, which are prepared in a ratio of 1:10 and 1:20, respectively, and after feeding the bushes are powdered ash. If affected bushes are identified, they should be completely removed from the garden, and the place should be treated with a solution of potassium permanganate.
Pruning repair strawberries
Complete pruning of remontant strawberry bushes is not carried out, since such processing can greatly reduce the fruiting time. On such a culture, only the removal of diseased, dried and damaged leaves is carried out, late peduncles are cut off.
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