Selection of a site with good air drainage, and planting in a row orientation parallel to the prevailing summer winds will improve the quality of harvested fruit. Proper plant densities will also reduce disease pressure on fruit. Trellising brambles and pruning blueberries will allow air and light movement in the canopy so a less favorable environment is created for decay organisms. Rain and dew increase the susceptibility of infection, but this moisture will evaporate quickly in a sparse canopy with good air circulation. For brambles and blueberries, trickle irrigation is better than overhead irrigation since the fruit is not wetted during water application.
Proper fertilization is also an important component of good shelf life.
Fruit from plants that are nutritionally stressed will have a shorter shelf life than fruit from healthy plants. It is essential that adequate potassium and calcium are available to the plant, and that nitrogen is not too high. For example, a strong relationship exists between nitrogen availability and fruit softness in strawberry. A leaf analysis aids in fine-tuning the fertilizer program. Fungicides applied at petal fall will significantly reduce the number of moldy berries in strawberries and bramble fruit.