Strawberries

A variety of information on commercial strawberry production including organic production, pest and weed management, frost and freeze prevention, and more.

With the majority of freezing night time lows behind us, strawberry growers should begin scouting for pests during bloom. Earliglow is already in bloom on the Lower Eastern Shore and other cultivars will soon follow with the warm weather forecasted for 4/12-4/16. Be on the watch for spring pests during bloom including thrips, tar-nished plant bug, leafrollers, aphids, leafhoppers which begin attack plants during flowering in Maryland. Author: Haley Sater; Title: Spring Pest Scouting in Strawberries

Strawberry Botrytis fruit rot, also called gray mold (fig 1), is a common disease that typically drives fungicide sprays throughout a season. Flowers are considered the gateway for the pathogen, and some flower infections can stay latent until the fruit ripens while some may show up earlier at green berry stage under wet and cool conditions.

Fruit and Vegetable News, Volume 13, Issue 1 (April, 2022). Topic in this issue are: Check for Allium leaf miner in onions and leeks over the next few weeks, Edema problem in high tunnel tomatoes, Using Plant Growth Regulators to Improve Apple Return Bloom, Botryis Fruit Rot (Gray Mold) and Crown Rot in Strawberries, Spring Pest Scouting in Strawberries, and Early Spring Vegetable Insect Scouting Tips.

Managing gray mold (Botrytis) on strawberries is increasingly challenging because of fungicide resistance development, plus a new Botrytis species that is less susceptible to fungicides is becoming common in the mid-Atlantic region. Resistance to certain fungicides is also a problem in management of anthracnose fruit rot. This article describes disease management strategies designed to slow further resistance development, while also providing specifics for managing our two most common fruit rots. Authors: Dr. Mengjun Hu, Univ. of Maryland, and Kathy Demchak, Penn State Extension

Black Root Rot found in strawberry plantings in the Mid-Atlantic this season.

It has been an unusually cool April, especially the last 2 weeks. This is following a warmer than average March. If you have strawberry plants starting to flower the flowers are going to be susceptible to cold damage during one of our chillier nights.

Over the last few weeks I have been sent pictures of and have seen dark spots on the foliage of strawberry plants (figs. 1 and 2).

Over the years I have seen dark spots on the foliage of strawberry plants like the ones in figs. 1 and 2. These spots can look pretty bad at times and are thought to possibly be the start of some disease such as angular leaf spot or anthracnose.