A John Deere Publication

A strawberry farmer standing among elevated trays of strawberry plants

Valérie Bernier says that growing strawberries in trays under high tunnels allows workers to pick berries 1.33 times faster than can be achieved at ground level. They hope to raise that to 1.5 times faster in the future.

Agriculture, Specialty/Niche March 01, 2025

Tray-grown Strawberries

Quebec strawberry producer pioneers new method.

by Lorne McClinton

Wild weather, fungal diseases, and labour shortages have been bedevilling strawberry producers in Canada for years. But a technology more commonly associated with raspberry production might provide solutions.

Long-cane raspberry production—growing them in pots in high tunnels—has been a highly popular way to commercially grow raspberries for years. Guy and Daniel Pouliot, owners of Ferme Onésime Pouliot, on I'Ile D'Orleans, Quebec, are part of a group of producers trying to adapt a variation for strawberries. They're transplanting strawberries into trays mounted on a framework in high tunnels at chest height. The first few years have been so successful that the brothers are steadily converting more hectares to it every year.

Strawberries, one of the healthiest fruits, is also one of the most challenging hand-picked crops to harvest. According to a paper by Komarnicki and Kuta (2021), the posture and discomfort of pickers not only have a significant impact on their health; it also impacts productivity and the quality of the fruit that is harvested, as the surface pressure exerted on the fruit is an important factor in maintaining fruit quality.

Growing strawberries in trays at chest height greatly improves picking ergonomics. It also significantly increases productivity.

We're harvesting the strawberries grown in trays 1.33 times faster than at ground level at this time," says Valérie Bernier, research manager at Ferme Pouliot. We're hoping we can increase this to 1.5 as our process improves."

The high tunnels offer the plants far more shelter, too. For example, field production was left swimming in late 2024 after a series of storms dropped one deluge after another. The canopy and the raised trays kept the plants and berries growing in the high tunnels out of the mud.

The technology is also giving them a fighting chance against fungal disease. Moving the plants off the ground has been a particularly effective way to reduce the impact of soil-borne fungal diseases like anthracnose.

"Not having rain hitting the canopy alone reduces a lot of our disease risk, too," Bernier says. "It requires a significant investment to grow strawberries this way. But it gives us more control and lets us plan production better."

Above. High tunnels offer the plants more shelter, too. Not having rain hit the leaves reduces disease pressure. It also offers particularly effective protection against soil-borne fungal diseases like anthracnose.

The Pouliots have found the technology does have its challenges. It's a labour-intensive system, Bernier says. Plants are grown in substrate. Since there is no soil to act as a buffer, workers must check the plants multiple times a day to make sure there are no plugs and the fertigation system is feeding normally.

Plants are done after one season, they just can't keep plants for 2 years in a row in this kind of system, Bernier says. Replacements are raised from runners in their greenhouse using soilless vegetative propagation.

"Plants in trays are more valuable than the ones in the field and they are more productive, so they cost more, almost a dollar per plant," Bernier says. "If they're cared for appropriately, they will give a higher yield than what you would get in field production for the same cultivar. Strawberries grown in trays are much larger than those grown in the field, too. We believe this technology will make strawberries a more stable crop over the long term."

Slow process. Trying to work all the bugs out of the system has been a slow process since it's only possible to do one trial a year due to their short growing season, explains Bernier. They are still trying to find the right variety that will produce nice big fruit. They're still assessing the right fertigation rates.

"Crop protection also has a learning curve," Bernier says. "Diseases and insects in them might not necessarily be the same as the ones that are out in the field. Other times the same diseases show up at a different time. Powdery mildew is a bigger problem under high tunnels, but there is more soil disease and botrytis problems in the field."

Tray production is unlikely to replace field production entirely, says Bernier. The two are complementary. Very early production still needs to be done in the field; it's impossible in high tunnels. ‡