Strawberry
The common garden strawberry is a hybrid fruit growing on a small plant. Because it produces a large amount of tasty fruit in a small garden, it is a favourite of urban gardeners and potentially of spacefarers.
Contents
Nutrition
- High in ascorbic acid (vitamin C)
Cultivation
Strawberries prefer well drained sandy loam with a pH between 5.5 and 6.5[1] They can be cultivated from seed, although it is normally easier to allow vegetative reproduction through the stolons. Note that if the stolons are not cut off, fruit production will be reduced[1].
Pathology
Strawberries are highly susceptible to a variety of diseases. In particular, the plant should be watered without getting the leaves too wet, or it may develop a fungal infection. For this reason, it is normally planted on a slightly raised bed and watered from the side. Stawberries infected with fungal diseases can be treated with copper compounds such as copper oxychloride[1].
A number of invariably fatal viral diseases are common on Earth.