Abstract
Using containerized transplants (plugs) is an alternative to bare-root transplants for strawberry (Fragaria ×ananassa) production in order to reduce water use during establishment. However, their price is double that of bare-root transplants. Three cultivars of strawberries (‘Strawberry Festival’, ‘Florida Radiance’, and ‘Winterstar’) were plugged on different dates (26 July or 16 Aug. 2010) in west-central Florida for evaluating their performance compared to bare-root transplants. Plugging date treatments were combined with different transplant establishment practices. Bare-root transplants were established with either 10 days of sprinkler irrigation (control) or 6 days of sprinkler irrigation followed by foliar application of kaolin clay on the 7th day. Containerized transplants were established with either 2 days of sprinkler irrigation followed by foliar kaolin clay application on the 3rd day or 2 days of sprinkler irrigation without kaolin clay.