Urban agriculture contributes to local food production, food access, nutrition, and community development in cities. Most research on crop productivity, however, takes place in rural environments, not in urban or peri-urban areas. Given a growing interest in urban agriculture, research evaluating factors that limit crop production in cities is needed as these factors may differ from those in rural environments.
My dissertation research evaluated factors influencing strawberry (Fragaria × ananassa) cultivation in raised-bed production systems across rural, peri-urban, and urban environments. Strawberries are one of the most popular types of berries in the world and are well suited to grow in a variety of climatic and environmental conditions, including urban gardens and farms. My research aimed to provide a better understanding of how genetic and environmental factors affect strawberry production via variation in plant interactions with beneficial and pest species, including pollinators, herbivores, and pathogens.
I found variation in the abundance and diversity of strawberry pollinators across sites. The number of honey bees tended to be higher at sites with hives though wild bees were the most important pollinators.
Honey bees were more common at low urbanization sites than high urbanization sites. However, it was not a general trend across years, indicating the importance of ecological context in the first year.
I also found that pest groups responded differently to urbanization.
Another key finding was that pollinators enhanced production but only when pest and pathogen damage was low.
My results showed that raised-bed production systems are comparable to conventional agriculture but on a much smaller scale. It is possible that planting multiple varieties of strawberries boosted production because polyvarietal cultivation can improve biocontrol services.
All in all, my dissertation research contributed to informing cultivar selection and management strategies for raised-bed strawberry production in addition to further understanding of context-dependent strawberry crop performance related to genetic and environmental variation.
All in all, my dissertation research contributed to informing cultivar selection and management strategies for raised-bed strawberry production in addition to further understanding of context-dependent strawberry crop performance related to genetic and environmental variation.