Winter production of strawberries in Norway

The use of artificial light with high intensity might be a way to produce strawberries independent of season in Norway. To study production potential, an experiment was performed in wintertime by growing plants during 12 weeks under artificial light with a PPFD of 180 pmol m s. Results show a maximal production of 4,4 kg m(-2) using a daylength of 16 hours, an EC level of 2 mS cm(-1), plants with a crown diameter > 20 mm and a plant density of 12,7 plants m-2. Plant quality seems to be the factor of overriding importance for an economical production. Results of this experiment are being used to develop a method for year-round production.