With preparation for strawberry season well on its way here in Plant City, UF/IFAS Researchers from our local Gulf Coast Research and Education Center have recently reviewed and re-released an article regarding water conservation practices in Central Florida strawberry production.

The article notes that some of the conservation practices come with a higher upfront cost, but season-wide savings can make the difference worth it while also conserving hundreds of thousands of gallons of water per acre per season. This greatly reduces the potential of sinkholes and dry wells in our local area.

Using plug transplants instead of bare-root transplants, using different colors of plastic mulch, and using crop protectants such as kaolin clay are among the practices highlighted in the article.

Hillsborough Soil and Water Conservation District encourages producers interested in these major water conservation practices to review this article to determine if any of these practices could be implemented on your land.