An Innovative Application of MEISTER (Polyolefin-coated Urea) to Strawberry Pots to Supply N for the Whole Growing Season in Kumamoto, South Japan

A hundred days and 240 days are required for growing strawberry plants in the nursery and in the greenhouse, respectively. Therefore, fertilization using conventional fertilizers is often repeated. To eliminate repeated topdressing, to decrease the amount of N to apply, and to save farming labor, a new fertilization method using MEISTER was studied. Since MEISTER is an excellent controlled fertilizer, the new method can apply all N necessary to grow strawberry plants almost for a year only by a single application (no N fertilizer is applied to the greenhouse soil). The experimental plots basically consist of two kinds of treatment: changing ratios of soil volume per pot or per plant (50 to 800 ml/pot) and kinds and levels of fertilizers (conventional fertilizer and two kinds of MEISTER). The experimental results showed 1) soil of ≥200 ml/pot is necessary to grow strawberry seedlings in summer when the soil is subjected to drying, 2) a blended material of two MEISTER products with sigmoid dissolution can supply N for the whole growing season, and 3) MEISTER application can reduce 40% of the total N conventionally applied.