Clemson Extension Offers Tips for Tissue Sampling in Strawberries

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According to The South Carolina Grower, it is important for strawberry producers to tissue sample their crop now. This ensures an adequate supply of nutrients are available for the crop, which maximizes yield and quality of the fruit.

Justin Ballew, Clemson Commercial Horticulture Agent, said the best method in tissue sampling is randomly select plants. These should be selected across the whole field.

It’s important to pick off the youngest and fully expanded leaves. Those leaves usually have a more gloss look than others.

Ballew stresses that farmers need to ensure they leave plenty of petioles on those leaves.

Once all the leaves are collected, it is important to separate the petiole from the leaflet. The petioles are used to sample the nitrogen content. The leaflets are used in sampling for other nutrients.

Tissue sample regularly through the end of harvest.