A state-of-the-art soilless strawberry crop has just been set up in the Metaponto area, and more precisely in Policoro (MT). "One of the main challenges for each campaign is finding enough labor for harvesting operations, as it is very difficult to find operators willing to do this kind of work for such a long period. The idea of a soilless crop is precisely that of helping operators during harvesting," reports Tonino Ferrara from FeVi Frutta, a company that commercializes various tons of strawberries a year.
"66 thousand plants were planted and covered with films. It is an ambitious project that covers around one hectare. 90% of plants are of the Candonga-Sabrosa cultivar, while the rest are of the Rossetta and Marisol varieties. The investment of approximately €150 thousand includes an innovative system for the remote management and monitoring of irrigation and fertigation, so data can always be at hand."
"This orchard, in addition to providing increased plant uniformity and enhanced production compared to the traditional method, will reduce the problems caused by plant diseases. In addition, with this crop technique, plants are not damaged during harvesting operations, thus reducing fruit waste."