Growing Day-Neutral Strawberries in New Hampshire

“Growing Day-Neutral Strawberries in New Hampshire” is a guide summarizing experiences with eight, day-neutral strawberry varieties tested at the University of New Hampshire.

“Growing Day-Neutral Strawberries in New Hampshire” is a guide summarizing experiences with eight, day-neutral strawberry varieties tested at the University of New Hampshire. Data from trials (including yield, disease susceptibility, and eating quality) serve as a benchmark for day-neutral performance in the region. Commercial berry producers may wish to consider farming methods that help protect crops from damage caused by the increasing frequency of heavy rain events. One change growers can make to reduce their risk of crop loss from a poorly-timed weather event is to spread out the production season. June-bearing (short-day) strawberry plants have a concentrated fruiting habit and therefore, a high susceptibility to weather-related damage. Meanwhile, day-neutral strawberry plants are able to produce fruit from approximately June until November in New Hampshire. This greatly extended fruiting season has many benefits including reduced risk of fruit loss from a single weather event.