Growing Berries With Less Water

Taylor Hillman General

strawberries
We’ve seen plenty of rain over the past few days. But we all know having enough water for our crops in California is a big concern. U-C Cooperative Extension Farm Advisor Richard Molinar is part of a huge research project going on to see how berries in our state do with different amounts of water. Molinar is irrigating small batches of strawberries in Fresno County… some at 125-percent of normal, along with several other plots with as little as 50-percent of normal. The goal, to see how strawberries, blueberries and blackberries will taste with less water to grow them. Other U-C advisors are working with berries from San Diego County all the way up to Santa Clara County. The research team will release its findings in about in about a year and a half.