Exacting Precision on Strawberry Nutrient Applications
The Grooms family has been growing strawberries in Plant City, FL, since 1974, writes Frank Giles at Growing Produce. Over the years, the farm has adapted to changing times and market conditions to sustain production. Today, Dustin Grooms has taken over management of Fancy Farms from his father Carl. This season, about 125 acres of berries will be planted, along with other spring crops on the same plastic.
Grooms focuses on precise nutrient applications. He says it makes sense from an economic, environmental, and production standpoint. No need to waste money on excess fertilizer that might potentially leach into waterways. In addition, a properly fed strawberry plant is more productive and more resilient against disease. It is this formula that earned Grooms recognition as a National 4R Advocated Award winner in 2019.
The 4R program encourages growers to focus on using the right source of fertilizer applied at the right rate, right time, and in the right place.
The foundation of Grooms’ fertilizer program is grid sampling to see what nutrients are lacking in various areas of Fancy Farms’ fields. He works with Jerrod Parker from Chemical Dynamics to develop the fertilizer program.
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“We are putting the nutrients where they need to be based off the grid sampling rather than slinging a bunch of fertilizer across fields that could get blown away or rained down to the creek,” Grooms says. “We lightly incorporate the fertilizer into the ground to make sure it stays put. We typically shoot for UF/IFAS recommendations, following the state’s BMP [best management practices] program.”
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