According to a study by a research group, strawberries show better development and higher quality when grown in coconut coir than soil. In case you are keen on growing strawberries in coco coir for superior outcomes, look at the benefits.

Why grow strawberries in Coco Coir

While designing these systems, different benefits than just preventing soilborne diseases arose. As of now, for some cultivators, soilborne infections are no longer the main focus behind developing these production methods. However, developing strawberries in coco coir has numerous benefits over planting them in soil. 

Labor

The strawberries grown in coco coir produce higher yields and better quality. With tabletop systems, the berries grow at an ideal height for the pickers. The current framework keeps the fruits exposed and separated from the leaves. This helps in increased picking speed of the strawberries leading to much better labor conditions.

Yield

In coco coir growing systems, the plant density mostly remains much higher than the ones grown in soil plantings. This results in a higher assimilation surface per hectare. Higher assimilation leads to higher yield and better quality of the strawberry plant. In tabletop systems, all berries hang freely in the air without getting attached to any leaves. There is less loss of berries due to botrytis or anthracnose, while snails or birds stay away from it. 

Decreased utilization of pesticides

The use of fresh clean coco coir and the secured ecological condition of the strawberry crop decrease the use of pesticides drastically. Yields are normally higher in coco coir systems. When splashing fixed rates per hectare, the use per kilogram of produced berries reduces. 

Water and fertilizer

Most systems gather the runover water. The water and the fertilizers can be reused once the disinfection process gets completed. This results in immense savings in water usage per kg of strawberries. 

Foundation

The best thing about growing in the coco coir is that the cultivator has the assurance to grow the plant on the same spot year after year. This makes it advantageous to invest in a good infrastructure with cleared roads, high-quality irrigation systems, and low labor tunnel structures. 

Development control

The definite root volume allows the cultivator to respond rapidly to climate changes and it is additionally possible to transfer the plant into vegetative or generative stages. Since irrigation and fertigation have an extremely immediate and controllable impact, the fruit size increases naturally and further helps in developing organic fruit quality.

Buy the Right Coir from Riococo

Like we have mentioned above, growing strawberries in coco coir is the perfect fit for various reasons. The water retention capacity of coir is substantially much higher and efficient, and therefore there is no need to water strawberry plants as frequently as it would require while planting them in soil. Similarly, coir has a high level of air circulation which helps strawberries root systems that need loads of oxygen for better growth.