Introduction to Fruit Sector

Ireland’s growers produce about 8000 tonnes of fresh strawberries per year worth an estimated 43 million Euro. The English cultivar ‘Malling Centenary’ is the most popular cultivar grown. The Dutch cultivar ‘Elsanta’ had been the most popular cultivar grown for the 40 years. Protected strawberry production is now the mainstay of the soft fruit industry in Ireland. Protective cropping has a number of distinct advantages for the grower including;

• allowing for the supply of fruit outside the traditional short season of June and July.
• Fruit quality is much higher, which is demanded by the consumer today.

Strawberries can now be supplied, and are in demand from March right through to November. To meet this demand many growers use a combination of growing systems

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