By John Bergman, Grower Advisor <\/em><\/p>\n What are soft fruits? This is a general term for strawberries, raspberries, blackberries and blueberries. This market segment is experiencing unprecedented growth here in North America and around the world. Soft fruits are one of the healthiest foods, low in calories, and high in fiber and vitamin C. What\u2019s more, they are heart-healthy because they contribute to lowering blood pressure and cholesterol.<\/p>\n Controlled Environmental Agriculture (CEA) provides a better way for growers to meet the increased demand for fresh, tasty, high-quality berries that are available year-round.<\/strong> Growers are aiming to get production closer to end consumers to improve shelve life and give them tastier berries. Some of the better-tasting fruits do not ship very well. That is why growers are transitioning from growing these crops in the field to substrates within controlled environments.<\/p>\n Thanks to CEA and growing media, growers can increase the harvest window and even have year-round production with some berry crops, such as strawberries.<\/strong> Growing in substrates can reduce water usage, increase yield and quality, and reduce the use of pesticides. Also, when moving into substrate growing, growers can setup a more permanent infrastructure that will provide improvements to the crop environment, labor savings and better overall production efficiency. With strawberries for example, growers can set up a tabletop\/trough system so that employees can harvest much faster and do not have to bend over as is the case in field production. Moreover, crop rotations are often needed in field productions to better manage pathogens or to adapt to the nutritional needs of their crops.<\/p>\n