Strawberry diseases can be devastating to a good harvest. This article explains how to identify the ones that might affect your crop, so you can keep growing it.
Steps
Step 1. Look closely at the particular signs that strawberries may show
Look at the leaves, stems, and fruits for possible problems. Here are the characteristics of some of the diseases that affect them:
- Root rot: Look for signs on dry, diseased leaves. The roots appear reddish in color.
- Moldy fruit (peronospera): check the underside of the leaves; moldy strawberries have a reddish tinge, with a thin white film on the leaves. In addition, the leaves can wrap around themselves and the fruit that sprouts is small, hard and inedible.
- Gray mold (botrytis): The fruit becomes covered with a thick gray mold. This disease is very obvious!
Step 2. Check for the disease
In any case, it is important to monitor the problem so that it does not spread or infect future strawberry crops. Here are some suggestions:
- Root rot: destroy infested plants. Don't replant new strawberries in the same area when buying a new stock of seedlings. Do not reuse any of the existing strawberries. Know that if the red fungus caused the root rot, it can survive in the soil for up to 13 years.
- Moldy fruit (peronospera): destroy infected plants, as for root rot.
- Gray mold (botrytis): Remove any infected strawberries and throw them in the trash, or compost, where they work well. However, do not use them in vermicomposting.
Step 3. Prevent strawberry diseases
Prevention is certainly better than cure; there are some techniques you can try to protect these delicious fruits from disease. Here are some suggestions:
- Always buy healthy plants that your trusted nurseryman has certified disease-free. It is even better if you buy locally produced strawberry species, as these are more adaptable to the climatic conditions of the place where you live. However, it's also important to accept the fact that some climates simply aren't compatible with growing strawberries, and if that's the case, you should grow other berries or fruits.
- Find enough space outside for your plants. Don't smother the strawberries - provide them with plenty of room to grow well.
- Avoid watering them in the evening. It can increase the chances of root rot, downy mildew, or gray mold, as temperatures drop overnight and there is no heat to dry out the moisture.
- Root rot can be controlled if the plants are grown in nets filled with compost; in this case they are less susceptible to disease and produce more marketable fruit than those planted in non-fumigated and unmodified soils.
- Try organic insecticides. Since strawberries on the market are among the most pesticide-contaminated fruits, it's really important to use organic insecticides when growing them yourself. A suitable organic product is the infusion of horsetail (horsetail).
- Avoid fertilizing strawberries. Follow the instructions based on the strain you are growing and don't be tempted by too much fertilizer. Be moderate, otherwise you risk increasing any root rot.
- Buy resistant varieties. Some have been developed to resist mold. Ask your local nursery for advice.
Advice
- It is important to move the spot where you grow strawberries every 3-4 years or so, to try to avoid plant diseases as much as possible.
- Root rot has become a serious problem in many strawberry growing areas.
- Many strawberry disease problems can be avoided by growing this fruit with a hydroponic plant.
