Published online by Cambridge University Press: 03 October 2008
Black polyethylene tunnels were used to subject Armore and Missionary strawberry cultivars to 21 short-day inductive cycles at either full bloom (7–28 May) or fruit swelling (1–21 June) stages. Regardless of application date, treatments induced a second bloom 8–10 weeks after treatment in both cultivars. The second crop of Armore was as large as the first, but Missionary produced only a small second crop that would not be worth commercial harvesting. Covering plants with black polyethylene reduced the vitamin C content of the first-crop fruits of Armore without affecting yield, while Missionary responded in an opposite way. Treating plants at full bloom hastened the ripening of the first crop of both cultivars by about 1 week and resulted in a larger second crop than was obtained by the later treatment.