Strawberry Root Growth and Architecture in Relation to Organic Residues and Replanting Problems.

Strawberry root growth is influenced by environmental and cultural factors, nutrient availability, internal physiological conditions such as carbon supply from the leaves (carbon allocation and partitioning, and shoot-to-root ratio) and allelopathic interactions with residues from previous cultures, and exudates, leachates and debris left by root growth and turn over. Roots show discontinuous periods of elongation and ramification, associated with shoot and root functioning and their reciprocal interaction. New crown roots have a positive geotropic behaviour, and grow a few millimetres apart, a response that is probably due to self-produced allelochemicals. This chapter has discussed an architectural model of strawberry root growth showing that, if temperature and water availability are at optimal levels, the proliferation of roots in favourable soil patches is rapid, as is the depletion of nutrients and the accumulation of allelochemicals. It is suggested that, in sustainable low-input strawberry field production systems, is essential to introduce crop rotation over several years so that other residues can accumulate in the soil, and also to improve humification (or stabilization) of organic residues with the addition of diversified organic additions in order to recover soil fertility and natural suppressiveness against pathogens.