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Royal Brinkman offers a wide range of modern products and technologies to increase the efficiency and profitability of fruit cultivation. We offer advice and selection of appropriate products in seven thematic areas: planting, care, protection and disinfection, machinery and equipment, technical projects and packaging.

Setting up a strawberry plantation starts with deciding how to grow. Depending on the method chosen, the method of establishing the crop will differ. Regardless of the chosen cultivation technique - an important element at the beginning of cultivation is the selection of high-quality seedlings. Healthy, pest and disease-free seedlings are the basis for efficient and profitable plantation management.

When to start a strawberry plantation?
Planting strawberries should be done from late spring to late August. Planting at this time ensures good propagation of the plants against winter frost.

Proper care of strawberries ensures healthy, lush growth and abundant fruit setting of the plants. The basic care treatments carried out at various stages of cultivation include mulching, irrigation and fertilisation. Depending on the type of cultivation (in soil or in groundless cultivation), these treatments require a different approach and the use of different product groups.

Strawberry irrigation 
Strawberry irrigation is usually done via a drip irrigation system that delivers water and nutrients directly to each plant. This method of odorisation ensures accurate dosage of the nutrient solution, which in turn translates into better growth and development of plants.

To ensure the healthy development and growth of the plant, the occurrence of diseases and pests in the crop must be carefully monitored.  The most popular strawberry diseases are :

• Grey mould is the most common strawberry disease. It is caused by fungi of the genus Botrytis cinerea . It mainly affects flowers, fruit buds and already developed fruit, causing them to dry out or rot. 
• Mildew is a fungal disease that often affects the cultivation of strawberries. It can be caused by various types of pathogenic fungi. Despite the fact that the disease can be caused by different types of pathogens, the appearance of damage is similar. Powdery white spots on the upper surface of the leaves are caused by powdery mildew.
• Strawberry anthracnose is a serious disease caused by fungi of the Colletotrichum family. It causes kidney disease on leaves, stems and shoots, as well as massive fruit rot. 
• Strawberry Verticillium wilt is a soil-borne fungal disease that affects the roots, causing the leaves to gradually dry out and the plant to die. It is of particular concern in strawberry varieties, which are more susceptible to the pathogenic fungi of the genus Verticillium .
• Strawberry plantation is also exposed to the occurrence of bacterial diseases, such as: 
• Bacterial angular spot on strawberry leaves, manifested by the appearance of small, watery spots on the underside of the leaf, with a diameter of 1 to 4 mm. Over time, angular spots become visible on the upper surface of the leaf. If a developing disease causes bacteria to enter the vascular tissue, the whole plant may become infected: flowers, shoots and petioles. This may even cause the plant to die.

Strawberry crops are also exposed to dangerous root diseases such as Pythium, Fusarum, Phytophthora . The research of the Delphy-institute showed that saturating the water for irrigation with oxygen nanobubbles is highly efficient in preventing root diseases in strawberries. More and more professional strawberry growers choose the Moleaer oxygen nanobubble generator [link to Moleaer pages], a proven and effective device to saturate water with oxygen. 
Pests are no less a threat to crop development. One of the most popular pests of strawberries are: 

• Thrips - is one of the most common pests in strawberries, the activity of which is additionally increased by high temperatures. Thrips attack the crop by sucking up the cell juice of plants and causing silvery spots where it is damaged. Damage caused by the pest leads to deformation of the plant and in the case of large numbers - non-binding or subsequent damage to the fruit.
• Alternative alfalfa - similar to thrips, the alternative alfalfa attacks plants by stabbing into the seedlings and sucking up plant sap. Then the flowers die and the fruit develops in a deformed form. It causes most damage in the summer months, around July and August, to varieties with repeated fruiting.
• Spider mites - The pressure of spider mites, especially the hop spider in strawberries, increased considerably with rising average temperatures. The pest is more active in crops under shelter, where average temperatures are higher. 
• Marshmallow larvae - The larvae of the strawberry oyster mushroom cause damage to the cultivation of strawberries by feeding on the stem and other parts of plants, and adults - by perforating the leaves and weakening the life processes of the plant. An effective way to control strawberries is the use of beneficial nematodes in Nemasys L products. 

Integrated pest management
Due to increasing consumer demands on fruit quality, strawberry growers are increasingly opting for integrated pest management, based on the use of biological preparations. Preparations based on the action of beneficial bacteria and fungi provide effective protection of plants against pests without the need for chemicals.

Better fruit quality and fewer residues are not the only advantages of biological plant protection products; they are also a good answer to the increasing resistance of pests to pesticides. Moreover, they are an excellent alternative in times of decreasing quantities of chemicals approved for use in cultivation.

Due to the changing situation in the strawberry market, advanced technical solutions, machines and equipment are becoming increasingly important. Their use enables you to speed up processes related to the management and care of cultivation, thus reducing labour costs and increasing the quantity and quality of fruit. Technical solutions that are most commonly used in the cultivation of strawberries:

DryGair
The energy-saving DryGair dehumidifier is a device that allows you to control humidity in the crop. This is especially important because of the high risk of fungal diseases that can significantly weaken plants and destroy the crop. DryGair is ideally suited for tunnel cultivation, when it is not possible to reduce humidity with fans.  

Advantages of the DryGair in soft fruits
 Removes moisture from the air

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Energy saving

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Ensures a stable climate

UniMite
After a period of extensive research and development, we succeeded, in collaboration with Pullens Mechanical Engineering, in developing a new bio-spreader specially for soft fruit cultivation. This has already been tested at a number of companies and has led to very positive results.

Advantages of the UniMite in soft fruits
 Labor saving

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High working speed

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Simple filling system

Bio Hopper
Bio Hopper is an advanced device for eliminating strawberry crop in greenhouse or tunnel conditions. The device can be used for liquidating crops or for seasonal removal of leaves and shoots left over from plant pruning. The Bio Hopper is equipped with transport mats that efficiently transfer the leaves and shoots from the plants into a container or onto a trailer.  

Advantages of the Bio Hopper in soft fruits
 Ensures labor savings

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Old crop is easily removed from the greenhouse

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The Bio Hopper can be folded out, minimising the space needed for storage or transport

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