What was it all about?

This project had the primary aim of promoting the adoption of efficient nutrition and irrigation practices among the Vietnamese strawberry-growing community, who are responsible for growing about 80 per cent of the crop in Western Australia.

The research team benchmarked several aspects of production within the target audience: fruit yield and quality, irrigation system design and scheduling, fertiliser practice, soil chemical and physical parameters, and water movement.

They then established a demonstration site on a grower’s property and intensively monitored soil moisture movement, soil conductivity and temperature.

Field days were held with a Vietnamese interpreter, to communicate project activities and extension material was written and translated into Vietnamese.

The project began in 2013 and ran for one year. Growers who attended field days developed a better awareness of the poor lateral movement of water, and hence nutrients, in WA sands. An unintended outcome of the project was retraining in fumigation practice for all growers.